David Geffen is an American business magnate, producer, film studio executive, and philanthropist. Geffen is best recognized as the co-founder of “Asylum Records” and “DreamWorks SKG”. With a net worth of $8 billion, Geffen is one of the richest people in the entertainment industry. In 2007, Geffen was ranked first in the list of 50 “Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America”.
What is David Geffen Famous for?
- Famous as billionaire business tycoon and co-founder of “Asylum Records”.
Where was David Geffen Born?
David Geffen was born on February 21, 1943, in New York City, United States. His birth name is David Lawrence Geffen. His nationality is American. Geffen belongs to Mixed ethnicity and is of Polish-Jewish and Ukrainian-Jewish descent. Pisces is his zodiac sign.
Geffen is the youngest son born to Abraham Geffen(father) and Batya Volovskaya(mother). His father died when he was 16, while her mother had a clothing store in Borough Park, “Chic Corsets by Geffen”. His parents were Jewish immigrants. David grew up alongside his older brother, Mitchell Geffen.
Geffen graduated from Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School in 1960 with around 66%. Later, he attended the University of Texas at Austin for a semester, and then he got transferred to Brooklyn College before he dropped out.
Later, he moved to Los Angeles, California to find a job in the entertainment business. He also attended Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California.
David Geffen’s Career Highlights
- Geffen began his entertainment career in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency (WMA) as a talent agent. He also had a brief appearance in the 1961 film, “The Explosive Generation”.
- Soon then, Geffen left William Morris to become a personnel manager.
- In 1971, Geffen co-founded “Asylum Records” with Elliot Roberts which later became a generator of the Southern California folk-rock sound. However, he left the Asylum.
- Later in 1975, he worked as a vice-chairman of “Warner Bros.” film studios. However, he retired soon with a false diagnosis of him catching cancer which later was corrected giving a clean bill of health to Geffen.
- In 1980, he recruited Warner Bros. Records as president and also founded Geffen Records. His records’ first artist to be signed was Donna Summer.
- His labels’ breakout point came with the release of John Lennon’s album, “Double Fantasy” in November 1980. He continued to run the label before leaving “Geffen Records” in 1995.
- In 1982, he founded a film production company, “Geffen Film Company” which produced several comedy films including Little Shop of Horrors, Risky Business and Beetlejuice.
- Later in 1994, Geffen co-founded another film label, “DreamWorks SKG” studio with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. He remained until 2008.
- Besides, he was an early financial supporter of the then-President Bill Clinton and also of Barack Obama.
- Geffen won the “Ahmet Ertegun Award” from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
- Later in February 2011, he was awarded the President’s Merit Award at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Who is David Geffen Married to?
David Geffen is currently single. Geffen came out as gay in 1992. Previously, Geffen was in a relationship with Jeremy Lingvall that lasted for almost six years. Later, David was seen caught kissing Jamie Kuntz. Kuntz is an ex-college football player. After the incident, Jamie began stalking David and was arrested in 2014 for violating the restraining order from the court.
After the death of his older brother, Mitchell’s death in 2006, Mitchell’s two daughters are the only closet surviving relatives of David. During the ongoing pandemic condition of COVID 19, David Geffen was blasted for an Instagram post about self-isolating on his $590 million superyachts in the Caribbean.
What is the Net Worth of David Geffen?
The 77 years old David Geffen is a billionaire business tycoon who has great earnings from his career in the entertainment industry. Working in this industry for more than 5 decades, Geffen has managed to establish himself as one of the billionaires all around the world. His estimated net worth is around $8.5 billion.
Geffen has lived at the Beverly Hills estate since 1990 when he bought it for $47.5 million. Geffen owns a $70 million waterfront mansion along with the purchase of yacht for $590 million from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in 2010. Besides, he has $30 million worth Trousdale Estates and other properties, which estimates more than $300 million. He also has a $590 million worth superyacht in the Caribbean. In 2011, Geffen bought Pelorus for $300 million.
He sold two paintings combined for $143.5 million and Pollock’s 1948 painting No. 5, 1948 from his collection for $140 million. Besides, in around 1995, he donated $5 million towards UCLA’s Westwood Playhouse.
Besides, he gave a $200 million unrestricted endowment for the School of Medicine at UCLA, which was later named after him, “David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA”.
How Tall is David Geffen?
David Geffen is a white man in his 70s. He has a fair complexion with bald hair and gray eyes. He stands tall with a height of 5ft. 7inches. while his body weighs around 80kg.
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