KISS bassist Gene Simmons wasn’t always the rock entrepreneur turned business mogul that we’re familiar with today.
Before he cut his teeth as a member of one of the most successful bands in American rock history — and owner of a number of business ventures that span from a restaurant franchise, a wealth management services firm and a magazine — Simmons was deep in the throes of poverty.
Simmons childhood was spent in Israel until the age of eight, when he and his mother, a holocaust survivor, emigrated to the U.S. The KISS rocker has always been vocal about his penurious childhood, and the subsequent wealth that he made for himself.
In a new interview with American Songwriter, Simmons delved into the wealth he has accumulated in the half-decade since the band’s formation and offered an illuminating perspective on poverty being the cause of all social problems.
“We’re not supposed to revel in our riches,” he mused. “But that’s bullshit. That’s bullshit because everybody — if I walk around and I walk into a room and said I’m worth a couple hundred million dollars, or a billion, or whatever they say, I don’t keep track, people would go, ‘Listen to that guy. What an asshole.’
“But if I just won the lottery and didn’t work a day in my life for it, everybody goes, ‘Fantastic! You won a shitload of money and you didn’t work at all for it.’ I’ve worked for every penny I got. I should be the one that should be able to say, ‘Look at all the money I got.’ But nope, can’t do that.”
He continued, “So, I don’t know how to say this, but it’s better to be rich than poor.
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“It is. You can create jobs if you’re rich. You can give money to philanthropy if you’re rich. A poor person never gave me a job. And the person who came up with the phrase, ‘Money is the root of all evil’ is a moron. Money is not the root of all evil. Lack of money is the root of all evil. The reason people hold up 7-11 is they don’t have money. Why would I ever hold up a 7-11 when I could just buy the block?
“The reason for crime is people don’t have enough money,” Simmons added. “One of the cures for lowering crime is give people jobs, give them something to do so they can feed their families, so they don’t have to go out and steal. That’s the way out. And don’t get me started on drug addicts; that’s another thing. There are a lot of rich white boys who are on opioids and crack. That’s another story and I’m not qualified to comment.”
This is far from the first time Gene Simmons has delved into his wealth, in fact he’s written a whole god damn book about it, On Power: My Journey Through the Corridors of Power and How You Can Get More Power. I personally have not, and probably will never read it. But if you were interested in Gene Simmons being your life coach, you can check it out yourself here.
