ONBOARD Magazine - spring 2023

We all know yachts aren’t good
for the environment, and I take
that on; but for me it’s about perspective.
The yacht, built by Lürssen, cost Geffen over half a billion
dollars – a sum reflective of his domination across the music
and entertainment world. Yet while his success is well renowned,
growing up there were few clues as to the business magnate’s
future dominance.
The now 80 year-old wasn’t supremely talented in his studies.
He graduated from Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School in 1960
with a ‘barely passing 66 average’ – while his university career
lasted all of one semester, as did his time at Brooklyn College.
What stood Geffen apart, however, was his ability to spot a
trend. Starting as a mailroom boy at the William Morris Agency,
he quickly ascended to talent agent (famously intercepting and
doctoring a letter from University of California to his employers
that stated his college graduate claim was false!).
As the booming music scene of the 60s took shape, so too did
Geffen’s aspirations, and going it alone by forming Asylum Records,
he rapidly ascended his worth, soon becoming Vice Chairman at
Warner Bros, before starting his own eponymous label.
“People ask me what it was like launching the careers of bands
like The Eagles, Nirvana, Aerosmith, Guns ‘n Roses and Beck,
and I tell them the same thing – they were great days, exciting
days, but the effort always comes from the artists. Everything
you do as a label is based on the output of the artist; the same
is true of the film industry, and the huge success we had at
DreamWorks,” he says, which he went on to sell to Paramount
for $1.6bn. “You are at the mercy of people who have skills you
could never dream of. You give them a platform and they give
you collateral – it’s a perfect unison.
“I look on my yacht
captain in the same
way, and the crew also.
In life I think it’s fair to
accept what we can do
and what we can’t. I
can market people and
drive a business. Beyond
that? I’m limited,” he
jokes.
Geffen has also encountered
significant criticism for
his nautical passions,
that has seen him labelled the most polluting American in history,
and second most polluting individual in the world.
“I think it’s all about balance,” he says. “We all know yachts
aren’t good for the environment, and I take that on; but for me
it’s about perspective.”
Geffen is no doubt referencing the philanthropy that has become
such a notable part of his character. It’s estimated he has donated
over a billion dollars to organisations, charities and institutions,
including the School of Medicine at UCLA, the Lincoln Centre for
the Performing Arts in New York, the Yale School of Drama and
the Columbia Business School.
As for future business aspirations, while Geffen has kept his
hand in a number of projects, it’s clear his preference is to
spend the next couple of decades on his favourite yacht seeking
a quieter lifestlye.
“I think what I like most is the solitude,” he admits. “I have lived
a life surrounded by noise, and you forget just how gorgeous
the sound of silence can be. Of course you don’t need a yacht
to achieve that, but I would encourage anyone, in any place, to
take yourself off somewhere and enjoy some solitude. It’s good
for the soul.”
ONBOARD | SPRING 2023 | 23