What Is Gene Simmons' Net Worth?
Gene Simmons is an American rock and roll legend who has a net worth of $400 million. Gene Simmons is known for being a co-founder of the band Kiss, which was extremely successful in the late 1970s into the 1990s and has sold over 100 million records worldwide as of this writing. In 2014, Simmons was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss.
Even with those impressive record and touring stats, the majority of Gene's wealth today comes from Kiss licensing deals. Kiss-related logos, icons, and other intellectual property have been licensed for over 5,000 different products ranging from pinball machines, lunch boxes, condoms, board games, lighters, comic books, and even coffins. The brand has generated over $1 billion in licensing fees since the 1970s.
Today, Gene and his bandmate Paul Stanley co-own Kiss. Everyone else is a paid performer. Gene has claimed that Kiss grosses over $100 million per year from touring, merchandise, and licensing deals. In April 2024, Gene and Paul sold the rights to the band's song catalog, image, likeness, and name for $300 million. More info on this transaction in the next paragraph.
Catalog and IP Sale
In April 2024, Gene and Paul sold the rights to Kiss' catalog, name, image, and likeness for $300 million. The deal also included the band's publishing rights and master recordings. The buyer was the Swedish music investment company Pophouse. Pophouse first gained prominence for creating a live avatar version of the group ABBA. That show, "ABBA Voyage," reportedly generates over $1 million a week from its London residency alone. Pophouse was co-founded by ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus. It is presumed that Pophouse will create avatar-touring versions of Kiss in the future.
Quote About Money and Wealth
In a February 2019 BBC interview, Gene explained his thoughts on money very succinctly:
"Life is a business, and I approach life the way a shark approaches life – they must keep moving, or else they will drown. I'll never stop hunting more money. I'll never have enough…. I live to make more money. People who say that money is the root of all evil are morons. A lack of money is the root of all evil."
Early Life
Gene Simmons was born Chaim Witz on August 25th, 1949, in Haifa, Israel. He was born to Florence Klein and Ferenc Yehiel Witz, a carpenter. His mother and her brother, Gene's uncle Larry Klein, were the only members of their family to survive internment in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. Gene left Israel with his mother at the age of 8 and moved to Jackson Heights, Queens, in New York City. Once in America, Chaim Witz adopted the more Americanized name of Eugene Klein. He also became very interested in music after watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. With his newfound interest in music, his mother brought him a secondhand guitar. Gene became very good with the guitar but decided to switch over to bass because he felt it would be easier to get into a band. While in high school, Simmons started his first band, Lynx, which was later renamed Missing Links. After his time with the Missing Links, he joined The Long Island Sounds.
Gene studied briefly at Sullivan County Community College, then transferred to Richmond College, eventually earning a degree in education. With his degree in hand, Simmons taught grade school in Spanish Harlem and even worked as a personal assistant with the editor of "Vogue" and "Glamour" magazine. It was during this time that he changed his name to Gene Simmons in honor of famed rockabilly performer Jumpin' Gene Simmons. Gene joined the band Bullfrog Bheer, and they recorded the demo "Leeta." (It was later included on the Kiss box set.)
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Music Career
Going under the name of Gene Simmons, he met Stanley Eisen (A.K.A Paul Stanley). The two decided to collaborate and formed the band Wicked Lester. Their efforts paid off quickly because just after seven shows they signed a deal with Epic Records. They recorded an album, but it was not supported by Epic and fell by the wayside. It was never released. After this failure, Gene and Paul set out to create what they called "The band that would rule the world." They invited drummer Peter Criss to join them after seeing his advertisement in "Rolling Stone" magazine. They would soon be joined by guitarist Paul Frehley (aka Ace Frehley). The stage was now set for Kiss to take on the world. After five months of rehearsal, they played their first show. Before the show, they decided to experiment with make-up. Feeling that the make-up made them look too feminine, they instead opted to use make-up as a form of art. They came up with the idea to use the make-up to express who they are as a person. "Kiss" quickly gathered a fan base. They released their self-titled debut album in February 1974. Simmons was the driving force behind their extensive merchandise. But even with a fan base their first three albums were met with little or no critical success. One thing that was well-known is that Kiss put on a great live show. It was decided to record Kiss live in concert. Once the live CD was released, the band's reputation grew because their live album hit quadruple platinum.
After five extremely successful years, the band members began to feel imprisoned by each other. It was during this time that they went their separate ways to record their solo albums. When the band finally came back, they were met with backlash. Many fans grew tired of Kiss' make-up and Gene's theatrics of spitting blood on stage. In 1983, Kiss decided to perform without make-up. This actually allowed their popularity to grow even more. It was during the '80s that Gene felt like he wanted to take on more of the world. He began to accept acting jobs in Hollywood in 1984 and started his own record label (Simmons Recording). Kiss would release their album "Revenge" in 1992. The album would mark a much darker and rougher tone than most of their albums have had. The album was a hit, which led to Kiss being back in the limelight. Kiss has played on and off again since 1992, even making an appearance in 1995 on "MTV Unplugged." The band hosted fan conventions in 1995. In 1996-1997, Kiss embarked on a highly successful "Alive Worldwide" reunion tour. The band released another album, "Psycho Circus," in 1998. The original lineup has once again dissolved since then, with Tommy Thayer replacing lead guitarist Ace Frehley and Eric Singer replacing Peter Criss on the drums.
In 1999, Simmons co-produced the film "Detroit Rock City" which is the ultimate love letter to Kiss. He conquered the world of music with Kiss, but in addition to that, he also has, as of late, entered the reality television business with his shows "Rock School" and "Gene Simmons Family Jewels." Since then, he has made appearances across many reality shows, talk shows, and talent shows, including his latest venture in 2022 when he became a judge on "Yoshiki Superstar Project X" on Hulu Japan.
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Personal Life
Simmons formerly had live-in relationships with Cher and Diana Ross. He married his long-time partner, former Playboy playmate Shannon Tweed, in 2011, after they had been dating for 28 years. Together they have two kids, son Nick (b. 1989) and daughter Sophie (b. 1992), and they reside in Beverly Hills, California.
Simmons is an avid science fiction and comic book fan. He has published several science fiction fanzines and has contributed to other fanzines.
Simmons was a supporter of George W. Bush's foreign policy and vocally supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2010, Simmons said he regretted voting for Barack Obama, criticizing his health care reforms of 2009. In 2012, he endorsed Mitt Romney for president.
As far as philanthropy, Simmons advocates for ChildFund International. He traveled to Zambia to visit his sponsored children, of whom he has more than 1,400. He and his family received the MEND Humanitarian Award for their philanthropic efforts and work for the charity Mending Kids International. Simmons helped found The Children Matter, an initiative that fights to get children around the world access to health care.
Gene Simmons from Kiss and model-actress Shannon Tweed tie the knot / Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Real Estate
In 1986, Gene paid $1.3 million for a 16,500-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills that sits on nearly 2 acres of the most valuable land in the world. Several years later, he began a 5-year construction project that cost a reported $12 million to build the current 10-bedroom, 16,500-square-foot home that was seen frequently on the family's reality show. In October 2020, Gene and Shannon listed this mansion for sale for $22 million. In September 2021, they accepted $16 million. Here's a video tour from when it was first listed:
Gene and Shannon were looking to sell so they could move full-time to a 24-acre estate near Whistler, British Columbia. They spent $4 million building Shannon's dream house on this property.
In March 2021, Gene and Shannon paid $5.8 million for a hilltop home in Malibu. And a few months later, they paid $10.5 million for a smaller Beverly Hills mansion.
In May 2021, they paid $8.2 million for an 11,000-square-foot mansion in Henderson, Nevada. Soon after the purchase, he paid around $2 million for the undeveloped lot next door, which he eventually turned into an orchard with over 130 trees of various types. They did not end up spending much time at this house, so in October 2021, Gene and Shannon listed the home for sale for a little under $15 million. It was reported in 2023 that the property sold for $11 million.
