‘I Literally Don’t Ever Have To Work Another Day In My Life’

David Ellefson says he “literally [doesn’t] ever have to work” anymore and credits his success to saying “yes” to every opportunity. Best known for his long career with MEGADETH before parting ways in 2021, the Jackson-born bassist also built income streams through business ventures, film and music production, writing, a record label, and even his own coffee brand.

Though he remains active with various music projects—including the recent documentary This Was My Life about late bandmate Nick Menza—Ellefson told WRIF’s Meltdown he’s financially comfortable without needing to work.

“I literally don’t ever have to work another day in my life. I’m fine. Financially, I’m good,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “So I do this purely for fun and for joy. And it’s great that my phone rings and people still wanna hang out with me [laughs] and we still wanna invite me over to their party.”

“[Former MEGADETH guitarist] Al Pitrelli told me years ago when MEGADETH disbanded in 2002, he said, ‘Listen, brother. Say ‘yes’ to everything. It’s better to be overbooked than underbooked.’ And as I’ve talked about in other interviews, I said ‘no’ to a couple things. And boy, the phone stops ringing quick. And it was pointed out to me, it’s, like, ‘David, they’re calling you ’cause they wanna hear you say ‘yes’.’ It’s like when you hit me for this interview. You don’t go, ‘Hey, let me hit up Ellefson. Hopefully he’ll say ‘no’.’ It’s, like, ‘No. I hope he’ll say ‘yes’.’ The Jim Carrey Yes Man movie, I’ve talked about this over and over, it’s so poignant because it opens up all the doors. Yes leads to five more yeses, which leads to 10 more.

“These things are all fun for me,” Ellefson continued. “They’re passion projects. A couple of them make me a little money here and there. Usually I end up investing my own money into these things. But money is just a tool, and used wisely can go to help many other people and do other great things.

“I remember reading that book from Dave Ramsey years ago, or part of it anyway, or some of his podcasts — he’s a guy in Nashville, the Christian guy who talks about getting debt free —and he said the real reason to get debt free isn’t to just go buy more s**t for you,” he added. “It’s to go be charitable to others. So I took heed of that, ’cause I was probably pretty heavily in debt at that time. There comes a point in your life — you’re raising a family, building MEGADETH over the years… Every rock group has its expenses and, as I’m reading the Geddy Lee [RUSH] book, as I’ve read the Alex Van Halen book, we’re all in the same band. We invest into the group to keep the group going and building, and I do that now with my own life. I invest in myself, and I invest in my life to be able to be where I’m of best service to other people.”

Ellefson was a founding member of MEGADETH and played a crucial role in shaping the band’s signature thrash metal sound. He first joined forces with Dave Mustaine in 1983 and remained with the band through its rise to fame, contributing to classic albums like Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?, Rust in Peace, and Countdown to Extinction. After two decades, Ellefson departed in 2002 amid legal disputes but eventually reconciled with Mustaine and rejoined MEGADETH in 2010. His second stint lasted until 2021, when he parted ways with the band again following a public controversy.