KISS‘ Gene Simmons has spoken about his net worth and how much money he has made over the course of his career.
The bassist and singer appeared on The HoneyDew podcast, where he was asked about his relationship with money, how he manages it, and how music stardom impacted how he navigates his finances.
He started by explaining that he learned to be responsible with money because of his mother. He said, as transcribed by Blabbermouth:
“It’s interesting. Different cultures think of money in different ways. If you’re not Jewish, per Benjamin Franklin, a penny saved is a penny earned — by the way, now a penny saved is two pennies earned, ’cause that was before taxes, before America had taxes, federal included — so if you are not Jewish, people say, ‘Oh, you’re frugal.’ If you’re Jewish, ‘You’re fucking cheap.’”
He later said: “When somebody says I’m cheap, I say, ‘Thank you. I’m smart, bitch. I’ll see you at the end.’ And revenge, for all the people that had something to say about you, the best revenge is to have them work for you. That’s the best revenge. Keep your nose right on the grindstone. Work hard, work harder than your next-door neighbor. Amass your fortune, whatever that is. And living well is the best revenge.”