Net Worth: $9.0 B

LAST YEAR: 10

CHANGE: -10%

AGE: 80

RESIDENCE: Beverly Hills

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Entertainment, investments



THE MONEY: Geffen has made significantly fewer headlines this year compared to years past. That’s likely attributable to the wait-and-see strategy many of the world’s wealthiest have embraced as a result of the recently tumultuous market. It’s also possible Geffen’s decided to lay low in light of a federal probe launched in March last year in connection with a lucrative options trade Geffen made alongside billionaires Barry Diller and Alexander von Furstenberg. Geffen’s big bet on Activision Blizzard – made ahead of news reports that the Santa Monica gaming giant would merge into Microsoft Inc. – reportedly netted him around $20 million. Though Geffen has not commented on the matter, Diller told Bloomberg not long after news of the investigation broke that it was “a lucky bet.” That luck hasn’t always broken in Geffen’s favor, as the Business Journal reported in August of last year that he had been easing out of his position in Apple Inc. over the course of the previous two years. Apple stock has risen from $74 a share in January 2020 to nearly $180 as of mid-August.



THE BUZZ: Geffen’s fortune comes mostly from investments he made when he cashed out of the music business by selling Geffen Records in 1990. Four years later, he founded DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. They sold the animation studio less than 10 years later to Paramount for $1.6 billion. According to a source close to Geffen who asked not to be identified, the longtime supporter of arts and education has made $105 million in charitable donations this year as of mid-August.