Ellen DeGeneres Is Worth Almost Half a Billion Dollars! Here's How the Former Talk Show Host Has Built Her Wealth

Mar. 15, 2025

Ellen DeGeneres arrives for the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on January 5, 2020.Photo:VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

Ellen DeGeneresdidn’t come from wealth, but through her years as a television host and her successful comedy career, she has become one ofAmerica’s wealthiest self-made women.

The former talk show host has amassed a net worth of $450 million as of May 2024, according toForbes. While she has made a name for herself between comedy, acting and hosting, DeGeneres has also built a reputation as a successful house-flipper. Alongside her wife,Portia de Rossi, DeGeneres has bought and sold over 50 properties — a stark contrast from how she grew up.

During her2009 speech as the keynote speakerat Tulane University’s commencement, DeGeneres described being “lost” throughout her childhood school years.

“I had no ambition, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she said. “I shucked oysters, I was a hostess, I was a bartender, I was a waitress, I painted houses, I sold vacuum cleaners. I had no idea, and I thought I’d just finally settle in some job and I would make enough money to pay my rent, maybe have basic cable, maybe not, I didn’t really have a plan.”

While DeGeneres went on to become one of the most lucrative businesswomen in the U.S., she recalled that she thought “success was something different” when she was younger.

“My idea of success is different today, and as you grow, you’ll realize the definition of success changes,” she added.

From her television career to her real estate portfolio, here’s everything to know about how Ellen DeGeneres amassed her net worth.

What is Ellen DeGeneres’ net worth?

Ellen Degeneres hosts ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show’ season 13 bi-coastal premiere at Rockefeller Center in New York City on September 8, 2015.James Devaney/GC Images

James Devaney/GC Images

In 2020, DeGeneres made theForbeslist of top 100 highest-paid celebrities. At the time,Varietyreported that she was bringing in more than $50 million per year from her deal with Telepictures, the production company that producedTheEllen DeGeneres Show.

DeGeneres' fortune continued to grow steadily each year and was last reported to be $450 million as of May 2024.

Although she has earned income from many businesses and brand partnerships,Forbesattributes television as the main revenue driver behind her wealth.

How did Ellen DeGeneres amass her wealth?

Ellen DeGeneres attends the world premiere of Disney-Pixar’s ‘Finding Dory’ at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 8, 2016.Todd Williamson/Getty

Todd Williamson/Getty

In addition to her eponymous show, whichended its run in 2022, DeGeneres has participated in several projects in the entertainment and lifestyle industry.

She became an author in 1995 when she releasedMy Point … And I Do Have One,which was her first of four books authored throughout her career.

In 2003, DeGeneres starred in Disney’sFinding Nemoas the voice of the forgetful fish Dory, and reprised the role inFinding Doryin 2016.

That same year, she also founded A Very Good Production alongside Warner Bros., which went on to produceThe Ellen Degeneres Show. With the help of her production company, DeGeneres also created a record label, eleveneleven, in 2010.

In addition to hosting a television show, DeGeneres found success as a standup comedian — making history as the first woman to receive $20 million for a Netflix stand-up special, according toForbes.

DeGeneres also owns a lifestyle brand,ED,which sells furniture, home decor and more.

How much real estate has Ellen DeGeneres owned?

Ellen DeGeneres appears on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!'.Randy Holmes via Getty

Randy Holmes via Getty

DeGeneres is known for collecting multimillion-dollar homes, sharing in a 2023 issue of The Riv, a local California outlet, that she has bought and sold over 50 houses.

In December 2022,Architectural Digestreported that DeGeneres and de Rossi had broken the record for the most expensive deal ever closed in Santa Barbara County when they spent $70 million on two neighboring parcels of Carpinteria land.

When asked about her home flipping side hustle with de Rossi onTODAYin October 2018, she said it wasn’t “intentional” and instead attributed it to getting “a little bored.”

“We buy a house, and we love it, and we stay in it, and then we get a little bored because we like a different style or a different aesthetic, and I love furniture, and I love decorating," DeGeneres said. “So if I find something else and we make money, it turns out, why not move to another house?”

While there have been dozens of mansions and villas bought and sold over the years, the couple most recently sold their Carpinteria estate in August 2024 for $96 million.

Three months later, a source told PEOPLE thatDeGeneres had moved abroadafter “finding a house she fell in love with in the U.K.”

What are Ellen DeGeneres’ biggest brand partnerships?

Allen Berezovsky/WireImage

In addition to her businesses, DeGeneres has teamed up with many companies through various brand partnerships.

Her lifestyle brand, ED, worked with Wayfair in 2015 to create a special furniture collection tied to her brand.

In 2018, the businesswoman collaborated with Walmart to create a women’s clothing line, EV1, which would sell clothing items and accessories in over 2,300 stores. That same year, she entered a 1-year creative content partnership with Spotify, creating an Ellen hub of her favorite music and podcasts on the listening platform.

DeGeneres has also had additional business relationships with PetSmart and Bed Bath & Beyond.

What has Ellen DeGeneres said about her worth?

Ellen DeGeneres at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films presentation at Disney’s D23 EXPO 2015 in Anaheim, Calif.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

During an April 2018 episode ofThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, the comedian shared how growing up “poor” shaped her attitude on her wealth today.

“When I was poor, and I just was like, ‘I am never going to have that attitude about money. I am always going to just get what I want, I’m gonna do what I want because I know there’s an abundance and I will always have enough,’ and that’s how I live my life,” she said. “You shouldn’t live your life in fear of money because you’re going to manifest that.”

source: people.com