Former American Pickers star Frank Fritz has had a tough few years. After Mike Wolfe confirmed Fritz had been let go of the History series, he lost income. He then dealt with a health setback earlier in 2022 that had him hospitalized and then sent to a rehabilitation facility. All of those things cost money, and now the former reality star’s financial trajectory is not looking good at all. In fact, he is paying a lot for medical care.
In recent weeks, the care of the former Pickers star has been taken over by a conservatorship, which means legal paperwork has been fired on his behalf. A guardian was put into place and a bank had taken over control of his finances. Now, the bank in question, the MidWestOne Bank, has filed paperwork indicating Fritz’s expenses are tallying up to $28,292 a month. Extrapolated out over a period of 12 months and thats over $273K a year.
According to the legal paperwork (via The Sun), Frank Fritz currently needs “in-home healthcare” which is costing the lion’s share of the aforementioned monthly tally. Right now, his care requires $22,832 a month. Then there are other expenses, things like health insurance, transportation, food and $250 a month listed for items like clothing and more.
Those additional expenses account for the additional thousands per month. However, his 2021 tax form indicates Fritz only currently is bringing in $60K per year after getting dropped by American Pickers. He still has a storefront that sells merch and antiques (including American Pickers merch about his firing) and the legal paperwork mentions additional investments.
Before his health issues, Fritz had been hoping for another reality show, but given his current troubles, going back to work does not seem like a possibility in the near future. Instead, the conservatorship plans to invest further to recoup some of the $28,292 a month costs.
Fritz is not currently in debt, though that could change. Meanwhile, MidWestOne Bank is reportedly working to “integrate Mr. Fritz into management decisions as he continues to recover.” The paperwork also states it will work to get him on disability, among other plans.
Frank Fritz’s stroke was a serious moment, to the point where his former co-star Mike Wolfe even took to social media in July to share the news, opening up the door to talk about Fritz for the first time in months. He also took the opportunity to ask fans who had been banging the drum for months about Fritz’s return to not do so while the star dealt with his medical issues. (For his part Fritz was allegedly unhappy Wolfe broke the news online.)
Months have passed since then, and it’s clear the health issues are lingering, though it seems that with these new legal guards in place the Pickers sidekick will get the help he needs. Our thoughts go out to Fritz during this time.
