Craig Gottlieb is widely recognized for his appearance in the reality show, Pawn Stars alongside, Richard “The Old Man” Harrison, Rick Harrison, and Chumlee. He is one of the world’s premier dealers in valuable collectibles and an expert in investing the antique militaria.
Family and education details
Craig Gottlieb was born in Miami, Florida in 1971 to WWII veteran father and Protestant mother, who followed Judaism when she married Craig’s father. His parents were the immigrant of Russia. He enrolled at Cornell University in 1991. He graduated from University in 1994 with a prestigious B.A. degree majoring in Philosophy.
He joined United States Marine Corps in 1993 and served till 2005. During his 12 years in the corps, he was able to acquire the rank of Major.
He got inclined towards militaria at the very young age from the late 1970s. However, he started trading the militaria since 2000. He started with a rusty German bayonet, which his father brought home from the war. Starting from that, he has now become well-known expertise of the WWII German militaria.
Details on Pawn Stars Rick Harrison. More on his net worth and wife!
As militaria expertise
In 2001, he began working as a frequent consultant on-air and off for different TV shows and movies on the weapons along with their handling uses and history. The same year, he operated Craig Gottlieb Militaria (CGM) in Solana Beach, California. The company is one of the nation’ top dealership specializing in collectible weapons and the military antiques. But more precisely, the firm expertise in WWII- related military collectibles.
He has been the owner of History Hunter since 2001. He updates the auction related details on the official website of History Hunter.
Other than his immense interest in the antique collectibles, he has also authored few books. He is the writer of History’s Jackpot: Investing in Antiques and Collectibles, Weird Guns, SS Totenkopf: From Munich to Nurnberg and Gau District Badges of Hitler’s Germany.
Career details of Corey “Big Hoss” Harrison? Net Worth
He has traded several incredible unique pieces from the history. He was able to discover the desk set used by Adolf Hitler in 2010, which was used to sign the Munich agreement in 1938. He also found a pair of the portraits of Hitler’s father and mother in Southern California which was owned by a French family. He later sold those paintings on his CGM auction held in Solana Beach, California, in September 2011.
He has sold some other items which belonged to the dictator Hitler. He sold Hitler’s hat, uniform, medals and personal items in the same year; he also sold Hitler’s copy of Mein Kampf for the price of $28,400.
He purchased the desk from the family of 2nd Lieutenant Jack McConn, who procured the desk from Hitler’s Munich Office in 1945. He started making the appearances on TV for his distinct passion for the history. He first appeared in media in an episode of Spike TV’s Auction Hunters.
From CGM to Pawn Stars
He is a total nerd when it comes to the antique collectibles, and he is someone, in his words, who “people love to hate, and hate to love.” He got the attention of many after he began starring the reality show, Pawn Stars. He first appeared in the show in the episode “Family Feud,” on May 28, 2012. He was cast as the replacement of Sean Rich and has appeared in 40 episodes.
While the show was on a filming hiatus, due to some contract negotiation with the principal cast, he had some opportunities to pursue other more lucrative TV projects. As he couldn’t be on two channels at once, he parted ways amicably. As per Craig, he might “return (to the show) at some time in the future.”
Pawn Stars’ Net Worth 2018: Old Man, Chumlee, Rick & Big Hoss
National Geographic, on March 25, 2014, announced a documentary series set in Eastern Europe, Nazi War Diggers, with four principal cast members including Craig. However, the show was pulled due to criticism by archaeologists on March 31, 2014. Later, in August 2015, the show aired on Discovery Channel in Poland. The show debuted in Channel 5 in the UK in January 2016 after being renamed as Battlefield Recovery and has finished its first season.
He has been rewarded with several accolades so far. On September 2014, he was honored as Washoe County’s newest honorary Lieutenant.
Besides, he has been serving on the the Board directors in the San Diego Air and Space Museum since December 2014. He is also a contributor to the AOL lifestyle website, Mandatory.
With his career as an author, historian, auctioneer, and reality show star, he is certain to bank a lucrative amount of net worth. As of 2018, the exact figure of his fortune is still behind the veil.
What is Austin Lee Russell aka Chumlee net worth in 2018?
Married with children!
Unlike his professional life, his personal life has often been under the radar. He is a married man with a children but not much of a detail regarding his married life is revealed so far.
He is quite active on Facebook and often updates about his working life. He is also used to sharing snaps of his son.
Transcript
Craig Gottlieb is an American militaria and antique dealer.
He was born in 1971 to World War II veteran father and Protestant mother, who followed Judaism when she married Craig’s father.
He attended Cornell University, from where he earned a prestigious degree in Philosophy.
After finishing his college, Craig enrolled himself into the marine corps where he acquired the rank of Major.
It was in the late 1970s when he started collecting military antiques. He launched CGM (Craig Gottlieb Militaria) in the year 2000.
In the year 2010, Craig discovered the desk set used by Hitler to sign the Munich agreement in 1938.
He purchased the desk from the family of 2nd Lieutenant Jack McConn, who procured the desk from Hitler’s Munich Office in 1945.
Craig also found a pair of the painting of Hitler’s father and mother in Southern California which was owned by a French family.
He later sold those paintings on his CGM auction held in Solana Beach, California, on September 1, 2011.
Craig sold Hitler’s hat, uniform, medals and personal items in the same year; he also sold Hitler’s copy of Mein Kampf for the price of $28,400.
His first appearance in media was when he appeared on multiple episodes of ‘Auction Hunters,’ a reality show aired on SpikeTV.
He later became a regular on the series ‘Pawn Stars’ after his first appearance in the episode ‘Family Feud’ on May 28, 2012.
He is the author of two books, The SS Totenkopf Ring: An Illustrated History from Munich to Nuremberg (2008) and Gau Badges of Hitler’s Germany (2012).
National Geographic Channel announced the start of a documentary series ‘Nazi War Digger’ on March 24, 2014.
Craig was one of the four principal cast members, but the show received a lot of criticism from archaeologists and was scrapped by the Channel.
The show later debuted its first episode in August 2015 on the Discovery Channel in Poland.
It was being aired on Channel 5 in the UK since January 2016 with the name ‘Battlefield Recovery’ and finished its first season.
As of recently, Craig has been traveling around South East Asia with his wife and children.
References
What is Austin Lee Russell aka Chumlee net worth in 2018?
Pawn Stars’ Richard Benjamin Harrison (The Old Man) is well and alive!
What is Pawn Stars Rick Harrison’s Net Worth? His Family & Business