David Geffen | |
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 Geffen in 1973 | |
| Born | David Lawrence Geffen (1943-02-21)February 21, 1943 (age 82) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Santa Monica College (no degree) |
| Occupations |
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| Title | Founder of |
| Spouse | |
David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943)[1] is an American film producer, record executive, andmedia proprietor. In music, he co-foundedAsylum Records withElliot Roberts in 1971 before foundingGeffen Records in 1980,DGC Records in 1990, and co-foundingDreamWorks Records (withMo Ostin, Michael Ostin andLenny Waronker) in 1996. In film, he foundedthe Geffen Film Company in 1982 and co-foundedDreamWorks SKG (withSteven Spielberg andJeffrey Katzenberg) in 1994.
According toForbes, Geffen is the wealthiest person in the globalentertainment industry; he has an estimated net worth of US$9 billion as of 2024.[2]
David Geffen was born inBorough Park, Brooklyn, New York, to Abraham Geffen and Batya Volovskaya (1909–1988).[3] Geffen's mother owned a clothing store in Borough Park called Chic Corsets by Geffen.[4] Both of his parents wereJewish immigrants who met inMandatory Palestine and then moved to theUnited States.[5] His older brother Mitchell (born Mischa) Geffen (1933–2006) was an attorney who attendedUCLA Law School and later settled inEncino, California.[6]
Geffen graduated from Brooklyn'sNew Utrecht High School in 1960 with a "barely passing 66 average". He attended theUniversity of Texas at Austin for a semester, and thenBrooklyn College, before again dropping out. He then moved toLos Angeles, California to find his way in the entertainment business.[7] He attendedSanta Monica College (then known as Santa Monica City College) inSanta Monica, California, but soon left. Geffen attributed his challenges in school todyslexia.[8]
After a brief appearance as an extra in the 1961 filmThe Explosive Generation, Geffen began his entertainment career in 1964 as a mailroom clerk at theWilliam Morris Agency (WMA), where he quickly became atalent agent.[9] He learned about showbiz politics while reading the memos he delivered between agents.[10] In order to obtain the talent agent job, he had to prove he was a college graduate. As he later reported in an interview, he claimed in his job application at WMA that he had graduated from theUniversity of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Because he worked in the mailroom, Geffen was able to intercept a letter from UCLA to WMA which stated that he had not graduated from UCLA. He modified the letter to show that he had attended and graduated, then submitted it to WMA.[11] His colleagues in the mailroom includedElliot Roberts, who later became Geffen's partner atAsylum Records.
In 1968, Geffen left WMA and became a talent agent forAshley-Famous Agency.[12] In 1969, he was executive vice president and talent agent forCreative Management Associates.[9] At this time he also started working as a personal manager and was immediately successful withLaura Nyro andCrosby, Stills & Nash.[13]
When Geffen was engaged in the process of looking for a record deal for youngJackson Browne,Atlantic Records founderAhmet Ertegun suggested that Geffen start his own record label.[14]
Geffen co-founded Asylum Records in 1971 withElliot Roberts after Geffen was unable to getJackson Browne a record deal anywhere else. The name Asylum was chosen because of the owners' reputations for signing artists who would struggle to find a record company that would contract with them. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records at this time. Asylum became a generator of the Southern California folk-rock sound and signed artists such as theEagles,Joni Mitchell,Bob Dylan,Tom Waits,Linda Ronstadt,Warren Zevon,Judee Sill, andJD Souther. Later in the 1970s Geffen left Asylum, which was later acquired by Atlantic's parent company,Warner Communications, and merged withElektra Records in 1982 to become Elektra/Asylum Records. The label was revived in 2004 as an urban music operation, signing hip-hop artists such asWaka Flocka Flame,Cam’ron,Gucci Mane,Paul Wall,Mike Jones andBun B.[15]
Geffen remained in charge until December 1975, when he went to work as vice chairman ofWarner Bros. film studios.[16] He then retired and in 1977 was informed (erroneously) that he had cancer.[17] During his retirement period he spent a short time (the fall of 1978 and spring of 1979) teaching a noncredit seminar on the music industry and arts management atYale University, where he featured classroom guests Jackson Browne andPaul Simon.[18] In 1980 a new medical diagnosis revealed the error in the original diagnosis[19] and Geffen was given a clean bill of health, whereupon he decided to return to working in the entertainment industry.
In 1980, he foundedhis eponymous record label and recruitedWarner Bros. Records executive Ed Rosenblatt as president. The Geffen label's meteoric rise to prominence within the year proved a bittersweet success. Geffen's first artist to sign on wasDonna Summer, who was anxious to leaveCasablanca/PolyGram Records.[20] Geffen shortly after released herThe Wanderer album, the lead single of which reached No. 3 on theBillboard Hot 100, and the album certified gold. Casablanca countered by releasing more singles off her 1979Bad Girls album such as the songWalk Away and a similarly named hits compilation to compete, but by thenNew Wave sound was dominating the airwaves.[21]
The November 1980 release ofJohn Lennon's albumDouble Fantasy seems an impressive feat for a new label, but at the time Lennon stated that Geffen was the only one with enough confidence in him to agree to a deal without hearing the record first.Yoko Ono, Lennon's wife and partner, stated that Geffen was the only label head to pay attention to her. In December 1980, Lennon wasmurdered andDouble Fantasy became a massive seller. Over the years, Geffen Records/DGC has released recordings by artists includingOlivia Newton-John,Asia,Siouxsie and the Banshees,Elton John,Cher,Sonic Youth,Aerosmith,Whitesnake,XTC,Peter Gabriel,Weezer,Lone Justice,Blink-182,Guns N' Roses,Nirvana,the Simpsons,Lifehouse,Tyketto,Pat Metheny,Sloan,the Stone Roses andNeil Young.
The label had been distributed by Warner Bros. Records since its inception, but in 1990 the label was sold toMCA Records with Geffen receiving shares in MCA worth $550 million.[22] A year later,Matsushita Electric acquired MCA and paid Geffen $670 million.[22] Geffen continued to run the label before leaving Geffen Records in 1995.[23] In late 1996 after being sold toSeagram, MCA reincorporated into its subsidiary name,Universal Studios, Inc., while MCA Music Entertainment was renamedUniversal Music Group.[24] The Geffen label was restructured under the recently renamed company. On December 10, 1998, Seagram acquired PolyGram for $10.6 billion; the latter's music division was merged into UMG, thus, on New Year's Day 1999, Geffen Records was merged with its sister label,Interscope Records, and PolyGram subsidiary,A&M Records, to becomeInterscope Geffen A&M Records.[25] Its division, DGC Records, would be absorbed into Geffen soon after, but Beck and Sonic Youth did not fulfill their contracts with the sublabel until 2003. After years of low sales and profits, Geffen laid off or vacated 110 workers,[26] but later recovered under Interscope's supervision, which at the time, was under leadership ofJimmy Iovine.[citation needed] In 2003, Universal dissolved MCA Records andDreamWorks Records; MCA presidentJay Boberg had resigned the prior spring while UMG (in October) acquired the latter label from Geffen's film label,DreamWorks Pictures, with rosters from both labels transitioning to Geffen Records.[27][28][29] The acquisitions and later dissolutions of both imprints caused 120 staff layoffs, while some remained under Geffen; a few went to work for its parent, Interscope.[30]
In February 2024, Universal Music Group reorganized Geffen Records and its parent label, Interscope Records, through a unit merger with sister label,Capitol Records (which they acquired from now-defunctEMI in 2012).[31][32] As a result, in today's time, Geffen, Interscope and Capitol now operate autonomously under a newly built music label unit, Interscope Capitol Labels Group.[33][34]
Despite the fact that Geffen founded and owned Geffen Records, former president Eddie Rosenblatt, who died on July 17, 2024 (aged 89), was acknowledged to have been the one who led Geffen Records during its glory years in the 1980s and 1990s.[35][36]
Throughthe Geffen Film Company, Geffen produced dark-tinged comedies such as the remake ofLittle Shop of Horrors (1986),Risky Business (1983) andBeetlejuice (1988). Geffen was the Broadway backer for the musicalsDreamgirls andCats. In 1994, Geffen co-founded theDreamWorks SKG studio withSteven Spielberg andJeffrey Katzenberg. In 1995, DreamWorks signed a $100 million deal withABC.[9] In 2008, Geffen left DreamWorks.[37]
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In 1995, he donated $5 million towardsUCLA's Westwood Playhouse.[38] The theater was renamed theGeffen Playhouse.[39]
According toForbes ("The 400 Richest Americans of 2004") and other sources, Geffen has pledged to give whatever money he makes from now on to charity, although he has not specified which charities or the manner of his giving. In 2002, he announced a $200 million unrestricted endowment for the School of Medicine at UCLA.[40] The School thereafter was namedDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. On December 13, 2012, UCLA announced that Geffen had donated another $100 million in addition to his 2002 donation of $200 million, making him the largest individual benefactor for theUC system.[41] The latest donation funds the full cost of attendance for up to 30 students per year, beginning with the Class of 2017.
In 2015, Geffen pledged $100 million toward the renovation of what was then called the Avery Fisher Hall, part ofLincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.[42] His gift, which amounted to about 20% of the hall's renovation costs, gave him naming rights in perpetuity over the building, now known asDavid Geffen Hall.[43]
In December 2020, Geffen pledged to donate $46 million to theUCLAmedical school, which is named after him.[44]
In June 2021, Geffen gave $150 million to theYale School of Drama. This gift allowed the drama school to eliminate tuition for all students enrolled in master's, doctoral, and certificate programs. The school was renamed the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.[45]
In September 2021,Columbia Business School announced that David Geffen had made a gift of $75 million to support the school's new facilities in theManhattanville neighborhood, north of Columbia's main campus. In recognition of his donation, the East Building was renamed David Geffen Hall when opened in 2022.[46][47]
During the 1970s, Geffen datedCher and spent eighteen months in a relationship with her. They began their relationship in 1973, while Cher was still married toSonny Bono, but their marriage was already ending. Geffen helped Cher gain independence in her career, since she was dependent on Sonny for some business contracts that Geffen would later call "slave labor". In early 1974, Cher's divorce became public and was heavily covered by the media, and it was at this time that Cher and Geffen made their first appearance together, at theGrammy Awards ceremony. It was from this moment that Geffen became a media celebrity.[48][49] Eventually, Cher left him forGregg Allman.[50][51]
Geffen eventuallycame out asgay in 1992. In May 2007,Out magazine ranked Geffen first in its list of the 50 "Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America".[52] Geffen married 30-year-old formergo-go dancer andpornographic film actor Donovan Michaels in 2023.[53][54] In May 2025, Geffen filed for divorce; he did not have apre-nuptial agreement with Michaels.[55]
As of October 2023, Geffen has an estimated net worth of $9.1 billion, making him one of therichest people in the entertainment industry.[56]
In February 2020, Geffen sold hisBeverly Hills estate toAmazon CEOJeff Bezos for $165 million, a price believed to be the highest ever paid for a home in a California real estate transaction.[57] In June 2020, Geffen purchasedCasey Wasserman's Beverly Hills estate for $68 million.[58]
In 2007, Geffen bought a half-share in friendLarry Ellison'sluxury yachtRising Sun, then at 138 metres (453 ft) the sixth largest motor yacht in the world.[59] After Ellison ordered a new and more compact 91 metres (299 ft) yacht, he sold his remaining half share inRising Sun to Geffen in 2010.[60]
In 2009, Russian billionaireRoman Abramovich agreed to a divorce settlement with his wife Irina that resulted in her taking ownership of the 115-metre (377 ft) yachtPelorus. Approached on Geffen's behalf by broker Merle Wood, Irina soldPelorus to Geffen in 2011 for $300 million.[61][62] Later that year Geffen soldPelorus to SheikhAbdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for €214 million, way below its former price.[63]
Geffen is a keen collector of American artists' work, includingJackson Pollock,Mark Rothko andWillem de Kooning. According to the chief curator at theMuseum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles,Paul Schimmel: "There's no collection that has a better representation of post-war American art than David Geffen's."[64]
In October 2006, Geffen sold two paintings byJasper Johns and aDe Kooning from his collection for a combined sum of $143.5 million.[65] On November 3, 2006,The New York Times reported that Geffen had soldPollock's 1948 paintingNo. 5, 1948 from his collection for $140 million (£73.35 million) to Mexican financierDavid Martinez.[66] Martinez is the founder of London-based Fintech Advisory Ltd, a financial house that specializes in buyingThird World debt. The sale madeNo. 5, 1948 themost expensive painting ever sold (outstripping the $134 million paid in October 2006 forGustav Klimt's portraitPortrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, purchased by cosmetics heirRonald Lauder).[67]
Wealth-X reported in June 2013 that Geffen owns the most valuable private art collection in the world, and estimated its worth at $1.1B at the time.[68]
In February 2016,Bloomberg News reported that Geffen had sold De Kooning's 1955 oil painting,Interchange, for $300 million, and Pollock's 1948 painting,Number 17A, for $200 million, both to hedge fund billionaireKen Griffin.[69]
Geffen is a donor toDemocratic Party candidates and organizations, and was an early financial supporter of PresidentBill Clinton. In 2001, he had a quarrel with the former president over Clinton's decision not to pardonLeonard Peltier, on whose behalf he had lobbied the President.[64]
Geffen was an early supporter ofBarack Obama’s presidential campaign and raised $1.3 million for Obama in aBeverly Hills fundraiser.[70]
Along with other Hollywood figures includingSteven Spielberg andBrad Pitt, Geffen donated to opposeProposition 8 in the November 2008 election. Proposition 8 would have amended California's Constitution to bansame-sex marriage.[71][72][73] California's voters passed Proposition 8 by a margin of 52.24% to 47.76%. Decisions in federal courts ultimately invalidated California's prohibition of same-sex marriage. See2008 California Proposition 8 § Legal challenges.
Geffen, among other wealthy Democrats, donated tothe Lincoln Project, a Republican-led super PAC that opposed the re-election ofDonald Trump and the Republican senators who supported Trump in the2020 presidential election.[74]
Until 2017, Geffen owned aMalibu compound onCarbon Beach.[75] In 1983, Geffen received permits from theCalifornia Coastal Commission to build aCape Cod-style compound over multiple beachfront lots in exchange for creating a public pathway to the beach. He failed to build that pathway, and in 2002, filed a lawsuit to block public access altogether.[76][77] After a protracted three-year legal battle, Geffen reached a settlement with the Coastal Commission, granting the public a nine-foot-wide easement to the beach and reimbursing the state and non-profit groups $300,000 in legal fees.[78] The pathway was opened on May 30, 2005, to national and international media coverage.[79][80][81] The controversy has been called the "most famous Malibu battle" for beach access.[82] The Coastal Commission later contacted the state transportation department without receiving a response to ask if the curb cuts that prevented public parking were valid, amid rumors that Geffen had installed four fake garage doors.[83][84] The house was later sold toMark Walter, the principal owner of theLos Angeles Dodgers, for $85 million.[85]
On March 9, 2022,The Wall Street Journal reported that Geffen,Barry Diller and Diller's stepson,Alex von Furstenberg, were being investigated by theSecurities and Exchange Commission and theUnited States Department of Justice forinsider trading of options onActivision Blizzard just three days before Microsoft's announced acquisition. Diller denied the allegations and claimed it was "simply a lucky bet".[86]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Geffen drew backlash for posting onInstagram that he and a 45-member crew were self-isolating in theGrenadines on theRising Sun.[87][88][89][90]
Geffen has been ranked the most polluting individual American and second most polluting individual in the world, largely due to his yachts.[91]
Geffen was an investor inDigital Entertainment Network.[92]
In 2010, Geffen was a recipient of theAhmet Ertegun Award from theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[93]
In 2011, Geffen was awarded the President's Merit Award for "indelible contributions to the music industry" from theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at the53rd Grammy Awards.[94]
While Geffen has produced music, he has also been the subject of several songs, documentaries and books.
Joni Mitchell and Geffen were close friends and, in the early 1970s, made a trip to Paris withRobbie Robertson and Robertson's wife, Dominique. As a result of that trip, Mitchell wrote "Free Man in Paris"[95] about Geffen.[96] Geffen can be heard onBarbra Streisand'sThe Broadway Album, released in 1985. The track "Putting It Together" features Geffen,Sydney Pollack, and Ken Sylk portraying the voices of record company executives talking to Streisand.[97]
Geffen is the subject of several books, most recentlyThe Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood (2001) by Tom King, who initially had Geffen's cooperation, but later did not. An earlier biography wasThe Rise and Rise of David Geffen (1997) by Stephen Singular. He is also a featured character inMailroom: Hollywood History From The Bottom Up by David Rensen, inMansion On The Hill by Fred Goodman, inHotel California by Barney Hoskyns, and in several books aboutMichael Ovitz.
He was the subject of anAmerican MastersPBS television documentary titledInventing David Geffen. The documentary was directed by Susan Lacy and was first broadcast on 20 November 2012.[8] In the first series ofThe West Wing, the actorBob Balaban played a character reported to be a thinly veiled version of Geffen, as he pressured a sitting president to come out more strongly forgay rights in America.[98]
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