Gene Simmons Shares Secret to Making the Big Bucks

He's never had a hangover—seriously
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2015 11:52 AM CDT
Gene Simmons Shares Secret to Making the Big Bucks
Gene Simmons speaks onstage during the "4th and Loud" portion of the AMC 2014 Summer TCA on July 11, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Gene Simmons is worth more than $300 million, but the KISS rocker says that's not enough. "Life is business, and I approach life the way sharks approach life—they must keep moving or else they will drown," he says in a new interview. "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." Simmons, who spoke to the BBC about KISS' sold-out world tour, notes that he has always managed the band's finances, and that it was his idea for the band to sell a ton of licensed products—which have ultimately made it more money than its actual records.

The band has authorized more than 5,000 pieces of merch over the years, from ashtrays and lunchboxes to pinball machines and coffins. As for Simmons' feelings about people who accuse the band of "selling out" because of this, the BBC notes that "a liberal amount of swear words" were edited out of his thoughts on the matter: "All our lives KISS has been hounded by people who haven't achieved anything. And we buried them long ago." So how does Simmons manage to achieve so much? Never having a hangover is part of it, he says. He tells the BBC he's never touched a drop of alcohol (or drugs, or a cigarette), which has allowed him to focus on ventures like a movie production company specializing in horror films. Read about five more stars who favor work over play. (More Gene Simmons stories.)

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