David Geffen is an American media mogul, film producer, and the self-made billionaire founder of Asylum Records, Geffen Records, and co-founder of DreamWorks SKG. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1943, his early life was characterized by a relentless drive for success despite lacking formal qualifications. Geffen is a dyslexic college dropout (twice).

His career began in the most humble of positions: the mailroom of the William Morris Agency in 1964. He excelled by teaching himself the entire entertainment business, rising quickly to become an agent and a manager for top talents like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Joni Mitchell. Geffen's self-taught business acumen and ruthless ambition were the driving force behind his multi-billion dollar empire.

David Geffen's career is a legendary series of successful asset creations and sales. 1971: Asylum Records. He launched Asylum Records by signing many of the artists he had managed (including The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt).

• 1974: He became Vice Chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures, pivoting to film.
• 1980: Geffen Records. He returned to music to launch Geffen Records, quickly signing superstars including John Lennon and Yoko Ono (releasing Lennon's final album, Double Fantasy), Elton John, and Guns N' Roses. He sold the record label to MCA in 1990.
• 1994: DreamWorks SKG. He co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the first new Hollywood studio formed in over 50 years. The company's assets were successfully sold to Paramount Pictures in 2006.

Geffen's immense wealth is tied to his mastery of controlling content (publishing and master rights) and orchestrating high-value sales, securing his status as one of the world's most influential and wealthiest media moguls.

David Geffen is a major global philanthropist, focusing heavily on medicine, education, and the arts. His giving is structural and massive in scale.

• UCLA School of Medicine: His record-setting $200 million endowment in 2002 led to the school being renamed the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the single largest donation of its kind to a U.S. medical school.
• HIV/AIDS Advocacy: He was an industry leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, making substantial personal contributions to organizations like amFAR and God's Love We Deliver.
• Arts Patronage: He has made massive donations to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

David Geffen maintains the famously casual, affluent, and high-status style of a Hollywood and media mogul. His attire is consistently simple, yet high-quality, favoring open-necked shirts and tailored casual wear. His aesthetic is anti-corporate and focused on artistic and financial power.

His luxury is immense, defined by his colossal art collection and his ownership of massive homes in Malibu and New York. His life is dedicated to the pursuit of cultural influence, the creation of media empires, and high-impact philanthropy, embodying the ethos of a college dropout who outmaneuvered Wall Street.