As one of the most well-known television show hosts in America, many people wonder just how much Ellen DeGeneres makes. Is she a millionaire or a billionaire?
Though Ellen does make a lot of money, she is not a billionaire. She is actually the world’s highest-paid comedian though as in 2019 she made $80.5 million. This also makes her the second-highest-paid TV host and 22nd highest-paid celebrity in the world. Despite her making millions a year, she is not a billionaire yet as her net worth is an estimated $490 million.
Continue reading to find out how Ellen went from being poor to being the highest paid comedian in the world.
From Poor to Rich
Ellen Degeneres is quite outspoken about her money troubles from both when she was growing up to when she was starting her career. Ellen’s mother, Betty DeGeneres, and father, Elliot DeGeneres, got a divorce when Ellen was 13. Ellen and her older brother, Vance DeGeneres, lived with their mother. Ellen says that even though her mom was a real estate agent, they could not afford their own house. They always rented homes and had to move every few years, typically to a new school zone.
When she was old enough, Ellen started working odd jobs to make money. She was a server, a gift wrapper, she painted houses, worked at a car wash and many more. She worked odd jobs until she started to pursue stand-up comedy in New Orleans. In 1994, she got her own sitcom titled Ellen. The show ran for four years and she used it as a platform to come out. Following the ending of the show in 1998 and her coming out as gay, she stopped receiving work. Until 2000 at least, when she voiced the character Dory in Finding Nemo. She says the job saved her, even though she made $75,000 for three years of work. After Finding Nemo was released, Ellen got her own talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2003 which garnered a lot of success. As of today, that is where most of her income is from. She receives over half of the profit made from advertising and product placement on the show. In 2017, she made $50 million just from the talk show.
How Ellen Spends Her Riches
Since Ellen grew up poor, having so much money now has made her frivolous. She says: “I am always going to just get what I want, I’m going to do what I want. Because I know there is an abundance and I will always have enough. That’s how I live my life.” Ellen’s philosophy is to enjoy her successes. She does this mostly by spending money on her wife, Portia de Rossi, and with her wife. Ellen and Portia buy real estate and flip it. The need to buy multiple houses likely comes from her inability to afford one in her childhood as it was the first thing she bought when she had money. Ellen and Portia bought a $6 million home in Hollywood Hills which she later sold to Will Ferrell for $9 million. Following that, they have spent approximately $145 million on buying and flipping houses which Ellen enjoys doing as a hobby.
Ellen also enjoys spending her money on vacations with Portia. They have been to places like Capri in Italy, London, and for Ellen’s birthday one year, they went to Africa, stopping in Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. Ellen also loves spending money on material things for her wife. Most notably, a Lamborghini because Portia liked the one that Kris Jenner had. Ellen says she enjoys getting Portia a gift every day, whether it’s something small like a dress or something as pricey as jewels.
Ellen may not be a billionaire, but it seems like she is well on her way to becoming one.