Rick Harrison is an American businessman and reality television personality. He is widely known as the co-owner of the ‘World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop’ in Las Vegas. Initially started by his father Richard Harrison, the pawnshop is now fully managed by Harrison. He is helped by his son and another partner.

Due to his epilepsy, Harrison stayed out of outdoor activities his whole life and drowned himself in books. This made him into a voracious reader and eventually was influenced to become an entrepreneur.

After the success of his pawnshop, Harrison forayed into the world of TV with the ‘History Channel’ reality show ‘Pawn Stars.’ This show featured his pawnshop and its interesting clientele.

Because of his inclination toward historical artifacts and his ability to spot valuable items, he is nicknamed ‘The Spotter’.

Born on March 22, 1965, in Lexington, North Carolina, Harrison attended ‘Taft Middle School’ in San Diego, California. He was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 8-years-old and since then he got engrossed in reading, which eventually helped him in this entrepreneurial career.

He’s highly influenced by John D. Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Brain’ series. This series showcased the mind of a 10-year-old protagonist, who was a con artist. After dropping out of 10th grade, he started a business where he sold fake ‘Gucci’ bags.

After his family’s real-estate business collapsed in Las Vegas, Harrison’s father opened a second-hand shop and the rest is history.

As for his pawnshop, it took Harrison 4 years to find a producer for his reality show. The idea of a reality show dawned on him after his pawnshop was featured on the ‘Comedy Central’ show ‘Insomniac with Dave Attell’ (2003).

After finding a producer for his show, the show which was titled ‘Pawning History,’ was renamed to ‘Pawn Stars’.

Harrison, on June 7, 2011, released a biography titled ‘License to Pawn: Deals, Steals and My Life at the Gold & Silver.’