According to a TMZ report, Storage Wars’ fame Darrell Sheets has died at the age of 67, leaving his massive fortune ($4 million) behind. Sheets was a professional bidder who joined the popular A&E reality television series in 2010 and became one of the most popular cast members.
According to a press release from the Lake Havasu City Police Department, Darrell Sheets was found dead in an apparent su*c*de, after the authorities responded to a deceased local at 2 a.m. The statement reads as follows:
“Upon arrival, officers located a male subject who suffered from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The male was pronounced deceased on scene, and the Lake Havasu City Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit was notified and responded to the scene to assume the investigation.”
After the body was handed to Mohave County Medical Examiner’s office, the individual was identified as Darrell Sheets.
News of Sheets’ suspicious death is making waves, especially about the massive fortune he built through his run on Storage Wars and his career as a professional bidder.
More on this in our story.
What is Darrell Sheets’ net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Darrell Sheets’ net worth was approximately USD 4 million at the time of his death. While the late bidder rose to fame after his run on A&E’s Storage Wars, he had already accumulated a significant amount by working in the auction business for decades. Sheets had a sharp eye for spotting value sale items, which led him to acquire some of the most valuable and unique items like Pablo Picasso drawings, Abraham Lincoln letters and rare comic book collections, which were sold for USD 15,000 and USD 90,000, respectively.
In 2010, Darrell Sheets rose to fame after he debuted on A&E’s Storage Wars. The reality television series worked on a simple principle. In California, if rent on a storage locker is not paid for 36 days, its contents can be sold at auction by an auctioneer. The series follows professional buyers as they travel across the state, hunting for abandoned storage lockers and bidding on them. The individuals were not allowed entry into the locker but were granted five minutes to inspect its contents from the doorway.
Darrell Sheets’ aggressive bidding style and strong personality made him one of the most popular bidders on Storage Wars and he became a household name, earning the nickname of ‘The Gambler’. He is credited with the biggest find in the history of the show when he spent $3,600 on a storage locker in 2012, which was revealed to contain a Frank Guttierez art collection worth $300,000.
After appearing in almost 168 episodes, Darrell Sheets stepped away from Storage Wars in 2017 and eventually retired from the bidding business in 2019. It was reported that the late bidder operated an antique shop called Havasu Show Me Your Junk in Lake Havasu City.
Exploring Darrell Sheets’ salary on Storage Wars
While Storage Wars‘ cast members’ salaries are not public knowledge, Sheets’ one-time “Storage Wars” co-star Dave Hester’s 2012 lawsuit brought many interesting facts to light. Hester’s lawsuit claimed that 100% of the treasures were inauthentically “placed” in the storage units and were taken back after the scenes were shot. While the audience was made to believe that the bidders were free to resell their treasures, that was not the case.
Hester’s lawsuit also shed light on the pay structure of a typical Storage Wars season, revealing that cast members were guaranteed $25,000 per episode across a 26-episode run, bringing their total earnings to $650,000 per season. This amount, paired with an additional $2,500 per month for travel expenses, a $124,500 expense account and a $25,000 signing bonus, totaled to an average of $800,000 for a season for each cast member.
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Edited by Aashna