Alaska: The Last Frontier is an American reality cable television series that is officially in its tenth season on the Discovery Channel. Yule and Ruth Kilcher, descendants of Swiss settlers and Alaskan pioneers, are featured in the documentary at their homestead 11 miles outside of Homer. The clan prefers to survive by cultivating, hunting, and planning for the long winters because they do not have access to modern heating. Jewel, the singer who has performed on the program, is related to the Kilcher family.
On October 6, 2019, the ninth season premiered. The tenth season will premiere on October 25, 2020, as revealed on September 28, 2020.
Well, how well do you know about Kilcher Family? If not much, we have compiled all you need to know about Kilcher Family’s net worth in 2021, wiki and complete details. Well, if you’re all set, here is what we know about Kilcher Family to date.
Inception
Atz and Otto, brothers, appear in the Discovery series Alaska: The Last Frontier, which follows them and their sons as they try to live off the desert, just like their parent, Yule, did while they were growing up.
Yule came to Alaska in the 1940s to escape the stresses of war in his native Switzerland. It was still frontier days in those parts when Alaska granted him 160 acres near Kachemack Bay to homestead. He and his wife Ruth raised their eight children without running water or electricity.
But they weren’t completely cut off from the rest of the country, and Yule and his family had achieved a degree of celebrity even before reality television. Yule was one of 55 delegates selected to assist with the drafting of Alaska’s first state constitution in 1955. During the 1950s, he also made A Pioneer Family in Alaska, the first documentary about life on a homestead, which he showed all over Europe. He served in the Alaska Senate in the 1960s, while Ruth, a poet and journalist, contributed a weekly column to the Anchorage Daily News.
Despite their fame, the Kilchers’ eight children, including Atz and Otto, grew up farming, fishing, herding cattle, and hunting for coal along the beaches to fuel their home fires. They turned to music in their spare time, singing and playing guitar and piano.
Atz became well-known in Alaska as a cowboy poet and singer-songwriter of folk, bluegrass, and western music, as well as an accomplished yodeler, over the years. (There’s something in the genes: Jewel, a singer/songwriter, is one of Atz’s daughters.) From time to time, he and other family members get together to perform.
Atz Lee, his wife Jane, and a firm involved with the show’s production were charged in 2015 with using a helicopter to film a bear hunt segment in 2014. In Alaska, it is illegal to use any aircraft to spot prey or to use a helicopter in any manner as part of a search.
The three defendants entered not guilty pleas. Since Atz Lee was critically wounded in a hiking crash, the case was put on hold. The charges against the Kilchers were ultimately dropped, but the production company Wilma TV was fined $17,500.
Evolution
The homestead has expanded to 600 acres over the years, with a few modern conveniences thrown in for good measure (like a road that goes to Homer). You will tour the homestead today, assuming you call ahead for an appointment, and get a glimpse into what life is like behind the scenes of the reality show.
The homestead is owned by the eight siblings in a trust and is covered by a conservation easement. One of the key log cabins has been converted into a living museum, where you can tour with one of the siblings. You’ll see antique instruments for working the farm and hear anecdotes of growing up as a pioneer in the twentieth century.
Many viewers of the show would be surprised to learn that the family is even larger than it seems on TV: Atz and Otto have six sisters, none of whom appear on the show, but all of whom still reside on or near the homestead.
Sister Mossy, for example, has released her own folk records and operates Seaside Farms on the homestead, where you can pick raspberries in the early fall or spend overnight in a tent, campsite, or youth hostel. Catkin, the eldest child, has a cabin on the homestead that she leases out to visitors.
Awards & Achievements
The Kilcher family is best known for their show on the Discovery Channel. During the 10 seasons that the show has been active, here are a few awards that they’ve been able to win:
- Nomination for the 2013 CableFAX Program & Top Ops Awards for Best Show or Series – Professions.
- Winner of the 2013 Communicator Awards, Award of Distinction
- Winner of the 2013 Telly Award for Best Main Title (Bronze).
- Nomination for Outstanding Cinematography For Reality Programming at the 2014 Emmy Awards.
- Nomination for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the 2014 Emmy Awards.
Net Worth & Earnings of Kilcher Family in 2021
The wealth of the family has mainly come from the proceeds that they make from the show. As of 2021, the combined estimated net worth of the Kilcher family is around $20 million.
It is amazing how the Kilcher family has been able to make an interesting and fun home away from the modern world. The Kilchers give art and music workshops as well as workshops where you can go birding, pick mushrooms, make wild berry jam, or learn how to build fences on a regular basis. We look forward to the tenth season for the show and what they have prepared for us.