Todd Hoffman's journey attracted viewers from the beginning, as they wanted to know how things would work out for him. People could relate to this man having money trouble because of the recession, and looking for a new way to make a living. Before getting into gold mining, Hoffman actually owned his own airport and was in the aviation business (via Discovery GO). But when he realized that wasn't a reliable income anymore, he turned to gold mining and got his family involved.
Todd Hoffman's net worth is about $7 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), with the miner pulling in about $25,000 per episode from "Gold Rush," according to TV Star Bio. Given that he's starred in eight seasons and Discovery recently announced he's coming back for the next one, that is quite a bit of money he's made, on top of whatever he finds mining as the owner and operator of the 316 Mining company. "Gold Rush" may make it look like all of these miners are barely getting by, but many are making quite a bit of money.
Gold mining may be an unpredictable way to earn a living, but Hoffman and the rest of the "Gold Rush" miners are doing pretty well for themselves.
