Is David Geffen really the ‘richest man in Hollywood’? With a US$8 billion net worth, the DreamWorks co-founder was linked to Keanu Reeves, dated Cher, and ‘married’ a male dancer five decades younger
- The music mogul made his fortune by signing Nirvana and Guns N’Roses, and forged influential friendships with Bill Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Madonna, Katy Perry and Oprah Winfrey
- The Geffen Records founder sold the iconic Jack Warner Estate to Jeff Bezos for US$165 million, and trades an art collection of US$2 billion with works by Jasper Johns, David Hockney and Jackson Pollock
David Geffen is not only one of the richest people in Hollywood – he’s regarded as one of its most influential. The music and movie mogul boasts an estimated net worth of US$8 billion thanks to a series of clever business moves – including signing two of the world’s most successful rock bands, Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses.
Nowadays, at age 81, Geffen spends his time on his superyacht with his “husband” who is 50 years his junior. Here’s how he grew up as a child of immigrants in Brooklyn to a like of unimaginable wealth and success.
His powerful rise
Geffen grew up in Brooklyn and started his career in a William Morris talent agency, where he worked in the mailroom. It was in the 1960s, through a stroke of luck, that he became singer-songwriter Laura Nyro’s manager. According to Hollywood Reporter, Geffen started a publishing company for her songs which he later sold for US$4.5 million. He used that money to start Asylum Records and put out records by huge artists including the Eagles and Joni Mitchell. He then sold Asylum to Warner Communications.
Geffen took a sabbatical from the music industry after receiving a bladder cancer diagnosis and started teaching at Yale. But when he learnt that his cancer was a misdiagnosis, he come out of retirement and founded Geffen Records. It was in the 80s that his success skyrocketed as he signed the world’s biggest rock groups including Nirvana, Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses, and legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young (who the label infamously sued for making “uncharacteristic” music). He eventually sold his company for US$550 million in 1990, per Bloomberg, earning him the title of the “richest man in Hollywood”.
Geffen extended his power, tilting towards the movie industry when he co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1994.
About that Keanu Reeves rumour
In the 1990s, as Geffen’s influence hovered above music and film, a rumour that he had secretly married actor Keanu Reeves started getting traction. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 1995, Reeves said he had “never met” Geffen, commenting on the gossip that, “It’s so ridiculous, I find it funny”. Geffen called the rumours “mean-spirited”.