Kiss star Gene Simmons says he's proud to be among the One Percent of the world's richest people – and insists everyone else owes him a debt of gratitude.

The bassist believes the world would descend into “chaos” if it wasn’t for him and fellow millionaires.

Simmons tells UTSanDiego.com: “The one percent pays 80 percent of all taxes. 50 percent of the population of the US pays no taxes. The one percent provides all the jobs for everybody else. If the one percent didn’t exist there would be chaos and the economy would drop dead.”

He adds: “Try being nice to rich people. I don’t remember the last poor person who gave me a job.”

Describing his 30 years of extreme financial security as “fantastic” he continues: “You know how I spell ‘shameless?’ P-r-o-u-d.”

And he explains: “People often confuse my pride and self-confidence with arrogance. I’m like an animal in the jungle that pisses on the ground and doesn’t ask permission. That’s full disclosure before the facts – others hold their opinions to themselves and never say who they are. You will always know who I am. You don’t have to like it.”

Kiss – whose induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame set off an explosion of controversy this year – are touring the US with Def Leppard.