How Ellen DeGeneres made her vast fortune

Over the years since, Ellen has amassed a sensational fortune of $480 million, though some estimate it's as high as $650 million. Photo / Getty Images

Ellen DeGeneres has sensationally ended her talk show after 19 seasons, but she's earned enough money in that time to set herself up for life.

The 63-year-old showbiz veteran called time on The Ellen Show today following 12 months of ongoing bullying and toxic workplace claims.

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After breaking into the business in 1994 with the sitcom Ellen, in which she infamously came out during one episode, DeGeneres later hosted the first The Ellen Show in 2003.

This was when she became a household figure capable of commanding enormous pay packets.

Over the years since, she has amassed a sensational fortune of $480 million, though some estimate it's as high as $650 million.

DeGeneres became the second-highest paid female celebrity behind Kylie Jenner, according to Forbes, earning US$83 million in the 2019/2020 financial year.

She was the twelfth-highest-paid celebrity overall, trailing behind the likes of rapper Kanye West and athletes Roger Federer and Cristiano Ronaldo.

While most of her earnings have come from her once-popular talk show, for which she made about US$50 million a year, DeGeneres also made serious bank for producing US shows including Ellen's Game Of Games, Little Big Shots and Ellen's Next Great Designer.

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She made history in 2018 when Netflix paid her up to US$30 million for her comedic stand-up show, Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable, making her the first and only female comedian to command such cash for just one stand-up set.

DeGeneres has also had several deals to produce products for various retail companies including PetSmart and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Then there's her vast real estate portfolio.

DeGeneres and her Aussie actress wife, Portia de Rossi, are known for buying, flipping and selling properties at a significant profit. Photo / Getty Images

DeGeneres and her Aussie actress wife, Portia de Rossi, are known for buying, flipping and selling properties at a significant profit.

While the true extent of their property portfolio is not known, DeGeneres and de Rossi have owned more than 20 properties together.

They bought and sold more than $102 million in properties in 12 months alone back in 2018.

In 2015, the pair made a $19 million profit when they sold their home in Holmby Hills only six months after moving in.

In 2018, they offloaded one of their Montecito, Santa Barbara properties for a reported $45.95 million, which they had bought for $35.81 million in 2013.

DeGeneres and de Rossi moved into their luxurious Balinese-style mansion in Montecito in 2019 – which DeGeneres infamously referred to as a prison on her show – after buying it for $34.88 million. They sold it for $43 million late last year.

DeGeneres and de Rossi attempted to end the year on a high, snapping up a $65 million home in Montecito, the same neighbourhood where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry live.