When people hear the name Menendez today, they usually think of a mansion in Beverly Hills, a shotgun, and the 1989 trial that basically birthed the true-crime obsession we’re all stuck in now. But before the tragedy, there was the career. Jose Menendez occupation wasn’t just "rich guy" or "executive." He was a ruthless, high-speed corporate fixer who jumped from accounting to car rentals to the music business, eventually landing at the top of a Hollywood video empire.
He lived the American Dream at a breakneck pace. Jose arrived from Cuba at 15 with nothing. By 45, he was making $500,000 a year—which was a massive salary in the 1980s—plus bonuses that could push him toward a million.
The Accountant Who Wanted More
Jose didn't start in Hollywood. He started with numbers. After moving to New York and marrying Kitty, he knocked out an accounting degree at Queens College. Honestly, his rise was sort of freakish. He landed at Coopers & Lybrand, but he was too aggressive to stay a bean counter forever.
One of his clients, Lyon's Container Service, liked his style so much they hired him as a comptroller. Three years. That’s all it took for him to go from the guy checking the books to the president of the company. He had this "take no prisoners" vibe that corporate boards loved in the 70s and 80s.
Moving Into the Driver's Seat at Hertz
By age 35, Jose was the executive vice president of U.S. operations for Hertz. At the time, Hertz was a subsidiary of RCA. This is where he really polished his reputation as a "turnaround specialist." Basically, if a company was losing money or just sitting stagnant, Jose was the guy they sent in to slash the fat and find a profit.
👉 See also: Exchange rate of dollar to uganda shillings: What Most People Get Wrong
He was known for:
- Cutting massive amounts of jobs to lean out the budget.
- Demanding absolute perfection from his subordinates.
- Aggressively negotiating every single contract.
Jose Menendez Occupation: The RCA Records Era
When RCA needed someone to fix their struggling record division, they looked at what Jose did with rental cars and said, "Do that, but with music." It sounds weird today—moving from car rentals to Duran Duran—but Jose treated every business like a math problem.
He became the Chief Operating Officer of RCA Records (then RCA/Ariola). He didn't care about the art as much as the assets. He leaned hard into the Latin music market, expanding the catalog and signing acts like Menudo. He was also involved in the deals for massive 80s stars like the Eurythmics and Jose Feliciano.
People who worked with him at RCA described him as "charismatic" but "insensitive." He’d walk into a room and just dominate it. If you weren't a winner, you were in his way. This period was the peak of his social power, where the family moved from New Jersey to a 14-acre estate in Calabasas.
✨ Don't miss: Enterprise Products Partners Stock Price: Why High Yield Seekers Are Bracing for 2026
The Hollywood Power Play at LIVE Entertainment
In 1986, Jose made his final career jump. He left RCA to run International Video Entertainment (IVE), which eventually became LIVE Entertainment. This was a subsidiary of Carolco Pictures, the studio behind the Rambo movies.
This was the 80s home video boom. Everyone was buying VCRs, and Jose saw the gold mine.
Turning Debt Into Millions
When he took over, IVE was reportedly $20 million in debt. Jose did what he always did: he cut hundreds of jobs, tightened the inventory, and pivoted away from "B-movies" to focus on big hits. By 1987, the company had a net income of $8 million. By 1988, that doubled to $16 million.
He was sitting on the board of Carolco Pictures and rubbing elbows with Sylvester Stallone and big-name directors. At the time of his death, he was guaranteed a $500,000 annual salary with a $350,000 bonus structure. His company also held a $5 million life insurance policy on him. He wasn't just an executive; he was a vital organ of the company’s financial health.
🔗 Read more: Dollar Against Saudi Riyal: Why the 3.75 Peg Refuses to Break
The Reality of the "Aggressive Businessman"
There’s a reason his professional life is so important to understanding the Menendez story. Jose Menendez occupation defined his identity. He was a "winner." He told John Mason, an entertainment lawyer, that he was going to take "dog companies" and make them number one.
But that same intensity didn't stay at the office. According to court testimony from Lyle and Erik, the same guy who slashed 400 jobs at IVE to save a buck was the guy who demanded perfection at the dinner table. He viewed his sons as "investments" or "projects" that needed to be managed with the same ruthlessness as a record label.
Key Professional Milestones
- Queens College: Accounting degree that set the foundation.
- Lyon's Container Service: From accountant to President in 36 months.
- Hertz (RCA Subsidiary): Managed U.S. operations and proved he could handle massive scale.
- RCA Records: COO role where he signed Menudo and expanded Latin catalogs.
- LIVE Entertainment: CEO role where he turned a $20 million loss into a $16 million profit.
Actionable Insights for Researching Business Figures
If you’re looking into the professional history of 80s executives like Menendez, it’s best to look at SEC filings and archived business journals rather than just true-crime documentaries. The "Monsters" on Netflix or the various Court TV specials tend to focus on the gore and the tragedy, but the business archives show a different side—a man who was a legitimate titan in the home video and music industries.
To understand the full scope of his career, you can look for:
- Archived Los Angeles Times business sections from 1986–1989.
- SEC registration statements for LIVE Entertainment and Carolco Pictures from the late 80s.
- Billboard Magazine archives, which detail his impact on the RCA Records Latin division.
By looking at these sources, you get a clearer picture of a man who was incredibly successful on paper, even while his private life was spiraling toward a violent end.