David Geffen was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 21, 1943. Upon completing his high school education at Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School, he went to Santa Monica College and Brooklyn College but eventually dropped out. The last of David Geffen’s attempt at securing a college diploma was at the University of Texas at Austin, but the same thing happened — he dropped out.

David Geffen then went to work for William Morris Agency (WMA), where he was assigned to the mailroom. Because he was a diligent worker, he quickly moved up to the position of an agent. He then left to become a personal manager and initially handled Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro.

While he was scouting for a recording deal for Jackson Browne, somebody urged him to come up with his own record label. So in 1970, he started Asylum Records and took in artists like Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, and The Eagles, among others. Asylum was bought by Warner Communications which led to a merger with Elektra Records in 1972. It then became Elektra/Asylum Records.
David Geffen led the company until 1975 and then moved on to become Warner Brothers’ vice chairman.

David Geffen founded Geffen Records in 1980 with its first artist, Donna Summer. Over the years, the record company has established a name for itself by releasing outstanding records courtesy of artists like Elton John, Cher, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Blink 182, Guns n’ Roses, Lifehouse, and Nirvana. Ten years after, in 1990, Geffen Records was sold to MCA.

Although David Geffen’s initial movie outings were through the Geffen Film Company (Risky Business, Beetlejuice, and Little Shop of Horrors), he eventually partnered with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg to form DreamWorks SKG. He left DreamWorks in 2008 to form a company to be run by Stacey Snider and Steven Spielberg.

David Geffen’s estimated net worth is $6.5 billion. He is considered as one of the entertainment industry’s richest people. He is an avid art collector.

More information on David Geffen:

A profile of David Geffen, including his favorite quote.

The Forbes profile of IMDB listing of David Geffen-produced films, including a mini biography and trivia links.

A comprehensive biography of David Geffen.

Askmen.com features a page on David Geffen and what makes him famous..