Gene Simmons – Chaim Witz in Hebrew – was born on 25 August 1949 in the city of Haifa in Israel. The Israeli-born of Hungarian descent, and American-raised guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer is a rock legend and one of the world’s most renowned live performers, best known for his work with the rock band “Kiss”. Gene Simmons has found huge commercial and critical success during his time with the group, helping write and perform a number of hit singles and albums. With 100 million record sales behind them, “Kiss” has been confirmed as one of the best-selling bands in the world – and Gene Simmons has certainly had a big part in their success, and has received appropriate rewards for his work, as evidenced by his considerable net worth.
So just how rich is Gene Simmons? Sources estimate that Gene has accrued an impressive net worth of $300 million during his career in the music industry over more than 40 years,
Gene Simmons Net Worth $300 Million
Gene Simmons has spent most of his life in America – having lived there since his parents moved to the New York City borough of Queens, when the future rock legend was just eight years old. Simmons has been quoted attributing his decision to pursue a career in music to the legendary success of “The Beatles”, saying he was “blown away” they could perform music on such a level. Simmons’s first encounters with music and performing came when he helped found a number of bands during his teenage years – including the rock group “Wicked Lester”, which was where he met his future “Kiss” co-member Paul Stanley. Together with Stanley, Gene Simmons developed the idea of creating the greatest rock band of all time. When, in 1974, Simmons and Stanley were joined by drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley, “Kiss” was born – complete with their iconic make-up and vivid stage personalities (with Gene Simmons himself taking the role of “Demon”).
Since then, Gene Simmons has found worldwide success, both with “Kiss” and in independent projects. Always famous for their lively and enthusiastic live performances, “Kiss” rose to prominence after releasing the ‘Alive’ album recorded live on stage in 1975 – which proved a huge success. With “Kiss” earning almost $20 million between 1976 and 1978, Gene Simmons certainly benefitted from this enormous commercial success, his net worth skyrocketing. During the next 30 years, the group released 20 studio, seven live, and 13 compilation albums, as well as over 50 singles. In addition, Simmons has released seven solo albums, and at one point, run his own recording label – “Simmons Recording”, Further, he has since made numerous appearances on television, and lent his likeness to several animated shows and video games. The royalties from all these projects have contributed to Simmons’s considerable current net worth.
The rock legend, bass guitarist and vocalist owes his fortune not only to his work with “Kiss” – one of the best-selling bands of all time – but also to his appearances in various other projects. Apart from his music career, Gene Simmons has appeared on the popular American reality show “American Idol”, and on several episodes of Seth MacFarlane’s hit animated sitcom “Family Guy”.
Today, Gene Simmons lives in California together with his long-standing partner, actress and model Shannon Tweed. Despite Simmons’s earlier statements that he did not support marriage, and that he and Tweed were instead “happily unmarried”, the couple finally married in 2011. Simmons and Tweed have two children together – their son Nick, and their daughter Sophie.
