Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American rock guitarist, singer, and entertainment personality. He is most famous for his rock band, KISS. Simmons was born Chaim Witz on August 25, 1949, in Haifa, Israel. When he was eight years old, he immigrated to New York with his mother, Florence Klein, a Nazi concentration camp survivor who, along with her brother Larry, were the only members of their family to survive the Holocaust. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Simmons spoke about his mother, saying, "The wisest person I ever met continues to be my mother.
She survived a Nazi concentration camp at fourteen when her whole family was killed. Her perspective on life is, 'Every day above ground is a good day, so reach for the stars. As long as nobody is trying to kill you, what have you got to lose? You cannot fail.' And she's right." He continued, "She's also taught me that success is only temporary. She still doesn't understand who pays me and why there's so much money. She can't fathom it. When I showed her the first ten million dollar check I earned, she didn't know what ten million dollars were or whether it's ten thousand or a hundred thousand. But she looked at it, and it looked like a large number, and she said, 'That's wonderful, now what are you gonna do?' She's right. You knock somebody out; you're the champion of the world, hey that's great. OK, now what are you going to do? Sit back? Or are you going to get back in the ring and continue to pump your heart while you're alive? Use it or lose it. I learned that work ethic from my mother." Gene's father stayed in Israel, raising his other children and working as a carpenter. While Gene was in America with his mother, they struggled financially and were barely getting by. Because of this, Gene changed his name to Eugene Klein, taking on his mother's maiden name. Gene became involved with his first rock band during his teen years, The Missing Links. While playing in this and other bands, he also worked odd jobs on the side to make ends meet.
Gene Simmons lived with his girlfriend for 20 years. He used to comment on his relationship with Shannon Tweed as "happily unmarried." He did not want to get married because he considered marriage an institution. Later, in 2011, he finally married her and had two children. His former love affairs included Cher and Diana Ross. Gene published a sex tape, which looked like a planned porn shoot and was considered a cheap way to gain attention in the media.
His relationship with Shannon boiled because of the sex tape incident. In an interview, when the host asked Shannon about her views on Gene's sexual relationship with more than 5,000 women, she said she liked his joke and stormed out of the set. She became very tired of everyone questioning his sex life, which was one of the main reasons she did not want to get married, as the formalities of divorce and other legal processes would be spared. Gene was very stubborn about not having a split. He said that most married couples have specific problems and would work through them. In another interview, a picture of Gene with two girls was leaked, and Shannon was asked about it. Such incidents caused a dispute in their lives, and their relationship turned ugly, with fights and arguments being regular. Gene said that Shannon considered their home life different from his personal sex life.
A rumor broke about Gene's infidelity, citing the sex tape as a decoy to protect other incidents. Before the wedding, the sex tape controversy took place, and people considered him lucky to have a loyal, beautiful, and strong woman to take him as a husband, despite all the troubles. She once said that all she could pray was that Gene let go of his demons and start working things out with her and her children. She settled on being the wife of a non-committed husband and father. He used his career to get an excuse for everything. He never was with his family and continued to remain attached to controversies to bring in more fans. The "Family Jewel" interview incident of Shannon getting frustrated again about his sex life was considered a publicity stunt. However, the reality was that their relationship was hanging on a single thread. There were many rumors that Shannon was hunting for a house to move out with her children. They were able to stick together, and Shannon is still living with Gene and her two children in the same place.
Gene formed a rock band named Wicked Lester in the early 1970s with Paul Stanley. They made one album that was never released. After being dissatisfied with their sound, the duo left the band and set out to find a drummer and lead guitarist to create a new band. Eventually, this led them to form KISS. The group was known for their extravagant makeup and performances, such as spitting fire and vomiting stage blood at concerts. Gene's estimated net worth is $300 million.
| Birth Date: | 25 Aug, 1949 |
| Age: | 70 yrs |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Tirat Carmel |
| Gender: | Male |
| Twitter Id: | Genesimmons |
| Spouse: | Shannon Tweed [M. 2011] |
| Net Worth 2020: | 400 million |
| Net Worth 2021: | 400 million |
