As per Celebrity Net Worth, David Geffen's net worth is $9 billion. Geffen has been sued by his estranged husband, Donovan Michaels, who alleges that the billionaire preyed on his vulnerabilities as a young gay Black man from the foster system.
Geffen is considered one of the richest and most influential man in Hollywood. He enmassed his wealth by signing two of the world's most successful rock bands, Nirvana and Guns N' Roses. In the 1960s, Geffen became singer-songwriter Laura Nyro's manager. As per The Hollywood Reporter, he started a publishing company for Nyro's songs, which he later sold for $4.5 million.
He used the money to start Asylum Records and put out records by huge artists such as Eagles and Joni Mitchell. He then sold Asylum to Warner Communications. He later founded Geffen Records, and signed some of the world's biggest rock groups, Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, and also Neil Young. He eventually sold the company for $550 million in 1990.
He extended his power and wealth when he stepped foot in the movie industry and co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1994.
More about Donovan Michaels' lawsuit against David Geffen
David Geffen and Donovan Michaels met in 2016, on SeekingArrangements.com, a dating site created to set up affluent individuals with younger singles in return for compensation, as per the lawsuit.
Michaels alleged that the media mogul paid him $10,000 to have sex with him on the night they met. The pair eventually began dating and got married in 2023, without a prenup. In May, 2025, Geffen filed for divorce.
Michaels in his lawsuit claims that David Geffen made breach of contract, when he left him near broke and homeless despite promising to take care of him financially. The lawsuit compares their relationship with the plot of the movie, Trading Places alleging Michaels was a trophy husband for Geffen to show off in front of his rich and famous friends.
"It was a sick game. Michaels became a prop in Geffen's theater of virtue, paraded around as evidence of Geffen's suppposed altruism, while privately used as a sexual commodity."
The lawsuit alleges that Geffen tried to dominate Michaels in all aspects of his life, expected Michaels to use drugs, required him to submit to extensive painful cosmetic treatments, and controlled where he goes, what he wears, reads, watches and says.
David Geffen also allegedly prevented Michaels from pursuing a modelling career, claiming that he needed to be constantly available to his needs.
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