David Geffen: The Hollywood power broker

David Geffen: The Hollywood power broker

From Good Bad Billionaire by BBC World Service

January 18, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

The episode explores the life and career of David Geffen, a prominent figure in Hollywood and the music industry.

David Geffen is the money man behind Crosby, Stills and Nash, Guns N' Roses, Cher, Shrek, Gladiator, and even Cats the musical. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack tell the remarkable story of the Brooklyn boy who conquered Hollywood and became an entertainment mogul. From starting in a New York agency mailroom to the heart of Laurel Canyon’s hippie-rock scene, David Geffen rubbed shoulders with almost every major cultural figure of the 20th century. Joni Mitchel wrote a song about him, and Cher dated him. Then he moved from the music industry to movies, founding DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and building one of the world’s most valuable art collections. Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that explores the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. There are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. From iconic celebrities and CEOs to titans of technology, the podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility. Simon and Zing put their subjects to the test with a playful, totally unscientific scorecard — then…

People in this episode

Hosts: Zing Tsjeng, Simon Jack

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Crosby, Stills and Nash, Guns N' Roses, Cher, Shrek, Gladiator, Cats, DreamWorks, BBC World Service

Places: Brooklyn, Laurel Canyon

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