David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 1994.
Early life
David Geffen was born in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York, to Abraham Geffen and Batya Volovskaya (1909–1988). Geffen’s mother owned a clothing store in Borough Park called Chic Corsets by Geffen. Both of his parents were Jewish immigrants who met in British Mandatory Palestine and then moved to the United States. Geffen graduated from Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School in 1960 with a “barely passing 66 average”. He attended the University of Texas at Austin for a semester, and then Brooklyn College, before again dropping out. He then moved to Los Angeles, California to find his way in the entertainment business. He attended Santa Monica College (then known as Santa Monica City College) in Santa Monica, California, but soon left. Geffen attributed his challenges in school to dyslexia.
Cofounder, DreamWorks Animation
- David Geffen is the founder of record labels Asylum Records, Geffen Records and DGC Records, as well as film studio DreamWorks.
- Born to Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, Geffen started his career in the mailroom of talent agency William Morris, where he rose to become an agent.
- Net worth: $7.6 billion
- Throughout the years he has amassed an impressive contemporary art collection, including works by Jasper Johns, De Kooning and Jackson Pollock.
- A luxury property aficionado, he owns one of NYC’s most expensive apartments, a house in the Hamptons and has owned two estates in Beverly Hills.
- In 2017 Geffen pledged $150 million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the largest gift in the museum’s history.
