Shawn Pomrenke (born March 26, 1975) is an American TV personality and gold miner. He is the son of TV reality star Steve Pomrenke and is best known for starring in Discovery Channel’s reality show “Bering Sea Gold” alongside his father since 2012.

Referred to as ‘Mr. Gold’, Pomrenke has amassed a huge fortune from his gold digging adventures and is also the co-owner of Christine Rose, the largest high line dredge in the show.

Early Life

Shawn Pomrenke was born on March 26, 1975 in Minnesota, United States to former gold digger and reality star, Steve Pomrenke, and his wife Catherine Gray. He is of Caucasian authenticity from his father’s side and has an older brother named Erik Pomrenke and a younger sister named Nikki Pomrenke.

Pomrenke was raised in Minnesota and lived there until the age of eleven. In 1986, the family moved to Nome, Alaska after his father took on a mechanic job there. In Nome, he attended Beltz High School but since a young age he was more interested in mining and working as a mechanic than schoolwork. His father’s work as gold miner greatly inspired him and resulted in him pursuing the same career path.

Career

When Pomrenke was fourteen, he started to work with his father as a gold digger. Soon they became one of the best gold diggers in Alaska and earned a name for themselves. Together, they built Christine Rose, the largest high line dredge in Alaska.

In 2012, they were approached by the creators of the popular show ‘Deadliest Catch’, to star in their new TV reality series ‘Bering Sea Gold’. The showed aired on Discovery Channel and followed various gold digging teams, including Pomrenke’s, as they searched for gold in different locations through harsh conditions.

Pomrenke’s salt of earth personality and insightful approach quickly made him a fan favorite and brought him great success. His boat, Christine Rose, was also featured in the show as the largest dredge during the first three seasons. However, it was eventually dethroned when Anchor Management, a suction dredge, became the largest one.

As of 2022, Pomrenke has appeared in all ten seasons of the show and remains one of the most popular star of the show, having collected the most gold.

Alongside starring in ‘Bering Sea Gold’, Pomrenke runs his gold dredging operations through Pomrenke Mining LLC, a company which he founded and is currently based in Nome, Alaska.

Salary and Net Worth

According to sources, Pomrenke earns approximately $200,000 per season on ‘Bering Sea Gold’. His salary for each episode ranges between $10,000 to $15,000. In addition to this, he also owns a number of successful businesses and companies, including Pomrenke Mining LLC.

His assets and total income place him at a net worth of approximately $4 – 5 million. He is reported to have amassed $1 million in 2016 alone when during the mining season he allowed the fleet onto his untapped Claim 38 and collected 20 per cent of the gold they found.

Pomrenke is plans to further expand his wealth as he hoping to get the mining rights to over 10,000 acres of property reported to contain quarter of a billion dollars in gold.

Shawn Pomrenke Wife

Pomrenke has been married twice. He was married first to an Alaskan native environmentalist, Jeanette Kolesch with whom he has two children, a son named Dylan Pomrenke and a daughter named Emily Pomrenke. Their marriage lasted for only a few years and ended in divorce.

Pomrenke got married for the second time to Jenny Shields who also appeared in the first and second season of ‘Bering Sea Gold’. The couple together have a son named Luke Pomrenke. However, this marriage also ended up in divorce and the couple share the custody of their son.

Although extremely private about his personal life, he is currently reported to be in a relationship with Monica Gomez since 2020.

Personal Life

Pomrenke has also been involved in a number of accidents. In 2012, he was stabbed at the back in a pub during a fight and was hospitalized for a few days. The following year, in 2013, he backed his car into a pedestrian at a parking lot of a grocery store.

Instead of assisting or apologizing to the person, he gave a thumbs up and drove away. He was later found to be highly intoxicated with his blood alcohol level twice the legal limit. He was arrested and charged with a DUI, failure to return to the scene of an accident, third-degree assault, and driving without insurance.

Filmography

• 2012 – 2021: Bering Sea Gold (TV Series)
• 2012 – 2014: Bering Sea Gold: Under the Ice (TV Series)
• 2012: Bering Sea Gold: Back to the Dredge (TV Movie)
• 2012: Bering Sea Gold: After the Dredge (TV Series)
• 2020: Gold Rush: The Dirt (TV Series)