Gene Simmons Reflects on Humble Childhood in a ‘One-Room Stone House’ Where He Had Only ‘a Stick’ To Play With

Gene Simmons revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he grew up in a one-room stone house in Haifa, Israel, where he had only a stick to play with due to his family's lack of money for toys. Simmons, born in 1949, shared that his parents, Flóra and Feri, had emigrated from Hungary in 1948 after experiencing the Nazi invasion. When Simmons was 6 years old, his parents separated, and a few years later, his mother relocated with him to Flushing, Queens, New York, to live with her brother, Larry, who was a baker. It was in New York that Simmons first developed an interest in music after watching The Beatles perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Despite his current estimated net worth of $400 million and ownership of multiple luxury properties, Simmons emphasized the stark contrast with his impoverished childhood.