According to Gene Simmons, being “rich” and “miserable” is preferable to being impoverished.
The 75-year-old musician, best known for being the lead singer of the rock group KISS, was raised in a modest upbringing and acknowledges that “power and money” have been the driving forces behind his professional success.
As Gene noted in an interview with “The UCR Podcast,” “It’s weird because I’m my mother’s only kid and I grew up with the harsh knocks of not being too romantic about what it all means.
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“I became more self-aware and realized that everything revolved on the pursuit of wealth and power, which is not a particularly romantic idea. However, I didn’t want to be impoverished because I understand how that feels.”
The events in his mother’s life have influenced Gene’s perspective. The legendary musician also thinks that his “survival” depends on having money and power.
“My mother worked at a sweat factory six days a week and survived the Nazi concentration camps of Germany,” Gene, whose mother survived internment in Nazi concentration camps, said. The idealistic hippie dippie perspective about life never worked for me because, you know, life is difficult.
“In order to survive, all I ever did was try to figure out how to get rich and powerful. The freedom to do things you truly enjoy is basically the only thing money can buy you. That’s the main goal, along with keeping you safe, covering medical expenses, generating employment, contributing to charitable causes, and so forth. I never got a job from a poor guy.”
Being “a rich, miserable f***” is preferable to being impoverished, according to Gene.
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He remarked: “Being famous was enjoyable during KISS, but a lot of famous people are not very wealthy, so that’s not much fun.
On the other hand, there are many filthy rich industrial types whose names you don’t recognize. It’s true that wealth is preferable to poverty. Furthermore, it’s still preferable to be a wealthy, miserable f* even if you’re a miserable f*. All I ever tried to do was that.
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