(FORTUNE Magazine) – After dropping out of two colleges, David Geffen landed a job in the mailroom at the William Morris talent agency by pretending he had a UCLA degree. The rest, as they say, is history. Geffen launched his own record label, became Cher's beau, and even taught business at -- the irony of it -- UCLA. A triple- threat impresario, he produced hit films (Beetlejuice), invested in Broadway successes (Cats, M. Butterfly), and built the largest independent record company in the U.S. Independent, that is, up until now. Geffen, 47, just sold his music business to MCA for stock worth $550 million. The big question is why he didn't make a deal with Time Warner co-CEO Steve Ross, a longtime partner whose company had manufactured and distributed Geffen's recordings. Says Geffen: ''I wanted a tax-free exchange of stock. Time Warner has $11 billion in debt and a low stock price, so they couldn't make an appropriate deal.'' For his part, Ross says he had the resources but thought the price too high. ''I think David made one of the best business deals ever,'' says Ross, himself no slouch as a dealmaker. ''The only reason he left was the $550 million.'' Well, that's show biz, or at least show-biz money. Geffen will continue to run his record company, but with the sale behind him, the man who brought you heavy-metal bands like Guns N' Roses may be able to kick back a little and listen to compact discs of his favorite composer, Mozart.