Gene Simmons | $400 Million

There is no doubt that Gene Simmons became a rock and roll legend after he created the well-known band Kiss, which rose to fame from the 70s all the way to the 90s. Though his net worth has reached $400 million today, the money he made wasn’t purely from his music career. He also earned through Kiss merchandise such as comic books, pinball machines, lighters, as well as coffins. Simmons was inspired by The Beatles when he saw them on The Ed Sullivan Show. From then on, he worked his way to make his music career take flight.

Simmons’ band became an icon for wearing all-black outfits with white paint on their face, which helped them gain quite the following. However, as the years progressed, their fans got tired of all their antics, so they decided to perform as-is. They were well received after that and helped their careers as well. But even before Simmons created his band, he got a degree in education and used it to teach grade school in Spanish Harlem.