Ellen DeGeneres' Net Worth (Updated 2022) | Wealthy Gorilla

Net Worth:	$500 Million
Age:	67
Born:	January 26, 1958
Gender:	Female
Height:	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Professional TV Host/Comedian
Last Updated:	Jan 4, 2026

Table of Contents

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• Introduction
• Before Wealth & Fame
• Comedy Career
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show
• Earnings History
• Additional Projects
• Allegations Of Bullying
• Real Estate

Introduction

Ellen DeGeneres is an American professional comedian and talk show host with an estimated net worth of $500 Million.

DeGeneres is one of the most well-known comedians of our time. She has achieved significant success over the last decade through her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Through the years that the show has been on the air, it has won over 80 awards. Besides being a comedian, Ellen is also a writer, producer, and actress.

Quick Facts

• Typically earns between $70 million and $85 million annually
• Peak annual earnings of $87.5 million in 2018

Before Wealth & Fame

Ellen DeGeneres began her career by performing stand-up comedy at small clubs in the early 1980s and was the MC at Clyde’s Comedy Club. She began touring shortly after with some of the funniest stand-up comedians of all time, and in 1984 was named Showtime’s Funniest Person in America.

DeGeneres landed her first regular TV role in the Fox sitcom Open House, before being cast in Laurie Hill. While that series only lasted four episodes, producers brought DeGeneres back to star in the pilot for These Friends of Mine. However, after being inspired by her comedy career, the show was renamed Ellen and proved incredibly popular.

Comedy Career

Starting in 1994, Ellen was often referred to as the “female Seinfeld.” Later on, DeGeneres came out as a lesbian on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her coming-out episode ended up being one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but after its fifth season, the ratings began to drop. DeGeneres returned to TV in 2001 with the CBS sitcom The Ellen Show, although it was canceled after just 13 episodes. Following these sitcom appearances, Ellen focused all of her energy on becoming a successful talk show host on NBC.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

In September 2003, The Ellen DeGeneres Show was launched as one of the many celebrity-hosted shows of the time. However, unlike others, DeGeneres’ show consistently rose in the Nielsen Ratings and received widespread critical praise. During its first season, the show was nominated for 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, winning four, including the award for Best Talk Show.

In total, The Ellen DeGeneres Show won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons, proving its immense success. On her show, Ellen was known for dancing with her audience members and giving away prizes and trips. Ellen celebrated the 1000th episode of her show in May 2009 with celebrity guests including Paris Hilton and Oprah Winfrey.

For her 2,000th show in 2015, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Timberlake made surprise appearances to celebrate. In 2021, Ellen announced her talk show would end after its 19th season the following year, with its final episode airing on May 26, 2022.

Earnings History

Year	Earnings
2010	$55,000,000
2011	$45,000,000
2012	$53,000,000
2013	$56,000,000
2014	$70,000,000
2015	$75,000,000
2016	$75,000,000
2017	$77,000,000
2018	$87,500,000
2019	$80,500,000
2020	$84,000,000
Total	$758,000,000

Between 2010 and 2020, Ellen DeGeneres was consistently ranked among the highest-paid television hosts, earning anywhere between $45 million and $87.5 million annually through all her endeavors. Her income was primarily generated through The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which, in the latter half of the decade, reportedly earned her between $50 million and $60 million annually. Her other income sources included her production company, A Very Good Production, which she formed in 2003, as well as paychecks from her real estate investments and film salaries.

In the first few years of the 2010s, Ellen typically earned between $45 million and $55 million annually. However, in 2014, The Ellen DeGeneres Show had become one of the top three most-watched shows on daytime television in the United States. That year, her earnings increased to an estimated $70 million. From then until 2018, Ellen’s annual income gradually increased, reaching a peak of $87.5 million in 2018. In the two years that followed, she earned $80.5 million and $84 million, respectively.

Additional Projects

Ellen DeGeneres replaced Paula Abdul during the ninth season of American Idol but left after one season, saying it wasn’t the right fit for her.

In 2017, she began hosting Ellen’s Game of Games, which ran for four seasons until it was canceled in 2022. She has also gained prominence by appearing in numerous films, including Finding Nemo in 2003, where she voiced the fan-favorite character Dory.

DeGeneres reprised her role as Dory in 2016 in the film Finding Dory, which grossed $1 billion worldwide as the third-highest-grossing film of the year. Ellen also has her own lifestyle brand, ED by Ellen, which she launched in the summer of 2015, as well as her own record label, eleveneleven. She has also served as the commercial spokesperson for numerous brands, including American Express, CoverGirl, J.C. Penney, and Walmart.

Allegations Of Bullying

In July 2020, ten former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show came forward and accused the comedian of creating a toxic workplace atmosphere. Some of the allegations include racist microaggressions towards employees of color, firing employees for medical leave, and failing to address sexual harassment. This story went viral after being published on BuzzFeed, and several other people came forward to talk about their experiences with DeGeneres.

An internal investigation was launched by Warner Bros. Entertainment shortly after, and Ellen issued an apology to her staff, vowing to change the culture. However, despite this hiccup, Ellen has remained one of the richest comedians in the world, and this seems unlikely to change anytime soon.

Real Estate

Throughout her career, Ellen DeGeneres has invested heavily in real estate, frequently purchasing properties and reselling them for a substantial profit. It’s estimated that Ellen and her wife have earned more than $100 million through real estate investments. While it would be impossible to list every single one of their property acquisitions, we’ve covered the couple’s most important real estate transactions below.

Ennisbrook Montecito Home

In September 2017, Ellen paid $7.2 million for a 3,129-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom home situated on a 5.96-acre lot. She sold the property for $11 million less than a year later in May 2018.

Montecito Compound

In January 2019, the couple paid $27 million for a 1,674-square-foot, four-bedroom, ten-bathroom mansion in Montecito, California. They relisted the property just over a year later with an asking price of $39.9 million, but ultimately sold it for $33.3 million.