News Archive October 2011

Gene Simmons: It's Not True I've Slept With 4,600 Women ... it's 4,800
From: The Sun
by Pete Samson
Posted: October 7, 2011

It was shaping up to be a pretty ordinary day until the phone rang. "It's Gene Simmons here," said the caller in a smooth, low American accent.

"I don't believe in assistants. I would like to meet you for a chat."

It was a refreshing personal approach from a celebrity in LA, the world of showbiz public relations moguls - and particularly surprising as Gene is one of the world's most extravagant and richest stars.

The 62-year-old helped turn his facepaint-daubed rock band KISS into a billion-dollar empire and has a personal fortune of more than £200million after raking in cash from a host of other business ventures.

As we arranged to meet at a cafe near his Beverly Hills mansion, it was clear it was no longer going to be an ordinary day - Gene Simmons is not an ordinary man.

His entire business operation is run from a little black book he keeps in his left cowboy boot.

As he picked at his breakfast of an egg-white omelette, the famously long-tongued star pulled the book out like a gun from a holster: "When I'm not sure what day it is I reach in my boot and take out my office.

"I have 30 years of these and always keep it in my boot. I can't leave the house without it. One day they will all be sold at auction.

"In it I have my KISS credit card, my daily medicine intake. I have a list of my business ventures, some important phone numbers - most of whom you'd recognise - some cash and my insurance information."

Gene's fondness for the little black book prompts me to ask if he has really slept with 4,600 women as rock legend suggests. "It's not true," he replied. "It's 4,800."

He even explained how he can be so specific: "I took Polaroid photos for a long time. I took photos of the vast majority. It just proves you can be an ugly bastard and if you've got the right job you'll have access.

"If you're a rock star you will get some, even if you're Lemmy."

Despite his extensive womanising, Gene married his girlfriend of 28 years, Shannon Tweed, at the Beverly Hills Hotel on October 1.

Gene and the former Playboy Playmate, 54, have a son Nick, 22, and daughter Sophie, 19, but he is pleased he has resisted marriage until now.

He explained: "At 62 it really is time to think about that. Shannon and I have been together 28 years and she's put up with a lot of crap. The nature of man is to wander.

"But the rubber band will only stretch so far and either you want to be with someone you're crazy about or you prefer being on your own.

"I've always been anti-marriage for men until they become mature. As a species we don't mature until we're in our 60s. The biggest financial pitfall in life is divorce. And the biggest reason for divorce is marriage."

With family in mind, Gene moves on to his own upbringing. The son of Hungarian Jews, he was born in Israel and moved to the US as a young child - and his difficult start to life formed the basis of his hard-working business philosophy.

He explained: "My mother is a Nazi concentration camp survivor and we came here when I was eight.

"The house I was born in was one bed for my mother and me. Rocket holes in the walls, no paved roads.

"I see the world through her eyes. Every day above ground is a good day, I take that point of view.

"Live and think like a poor man and you'll always be OK."

With breakfast almost finished, we still had not made it on to the reason Gene called me - to talk about him hosting the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour ceremony at The Roundhouse in Camden, north London, on November 9.

He said: "I'm a devout anglophile but I couldn't give a shit about the Royal Family. I love the music.

"England is a profoundly bizarre place that has produced thousands of bands the world has worshipped.

"It's like a shire in a hobbit story that has produced the greatest music in the world. It's a magical place."

At November's awards he will present Brit guitarist Jeff Beck, 67, with the Living Legend gong.

He said: "The awards will be so inspirational for me. When you say guitar god, it really just means English, doesn't it? There are no American guitar gods. All the rock gods are English."

Gene seamlessly moves the conversation on to his enterprises and philosophies, which earned him a lifetime achievement award for his entrepreneurial skills from business bible Forbes in June.

He explained: "I have a marketing company and a record company, a book imprint and it goes on and on.

"We have a life equity strategy company called Cool Springs Life who loan high net worth individuals as much as 300 million dollars.

"I am a partner in Ortsbo, the world's largest universal language translator. We have Simmons Records. We have TV show Gene Simmons Family Jewels, the country's longest-running reality show.

"The philosophy I have for my business model is try not to talk to anybody who can't decide what colour the curtains should be.

"I pick up the phone and call Donald Trump or Richard Branson or Warren Buffett directly.

"That's why I hate assistants. I won't have one. Ever."

And we had barely touched on KISS, the band who secured his own rock legend status and have sold more than 100 million albums.

"Oh yes, KISS," he said. "Well, we are celebrating our 38th year since our first tour and are in the studio recording our new album, Monster.

"There is a KISS golf course in Las Vegas, the KISS Coffeehouse franchises, everything from KISS condoms to KISS caskets.

"We'll get you coming and we'll get you going. It is the first time the Drug And Food Administration in America has allowed printing on a condom.

"It's never been allowed before for health reasons. The very first printing on any condom ever is my face with my tongue out.

"I'll show you - they're in the KISS room at my house. Do you prefer used or fresh?"

I laugh awkwardly into my coffee, as I have done several times through breakfast, but Gene is serious.

He jumps into his car and urges me to follow him to his house. We drive down a Beverly Hills street scattered with mansions - until we reach the grandest of them all.

We make our way through his sprawling home and after punching in a security code we enter the KISS room.

And suddenly everything that has come before in this whirlwind of a day seems normal.

"Here are the condoms," he said. "I'll give you one. We have about 2,000 different items of KISS merchandise in here.

"Nobody touches us. We outsell The Beatles and Elvis Presley. It's a billion-dollar company.

"We launched KISS BMWs a few months ago. We have KISS everything. Every deal is unique."

Then, pointing towards a small plastic contraption, he said: "Now I'll show you my favourite.

"It goes in a urinal. You pee on it and I talk to you. They were in restaurants and everything but now everyone has stolen them."

He touched the gadget to demonstrate and Gene's voice squeaks from the tiny speaker: "Even my tongue is longer than that."