Rosie O’Donnell found herself in quite the sweet spot before quitting her hit talk show in 2002.
The comedian hosted The Rosie O’Donnell Show for six seasons, from 1996 to 2002, and at its peak, the show drew between 3 million and 4 million daily viewers per episode.
That left her with an eye-watering sum in her bank account that then propelled her to leave the talk show behind.
Speaking with Page Six, Rosie, 64, revealed that when she saw she had a whopping $100 million in the bank, she felt comfortable enough to walk away from The Rosie O’Donnell Show.
“When I heard that [number], I thought, ‘OK, now I’m done,” she said, recalling: “And everyone was like, ‘Why are you leaving?'”
Rosie added that wanting to spend more time with her children also propelled the decision to leave the show, and knowing she “had enough money to take care of everyone in my life, philanthropy and strangers.”
© WireImage via Getty Images“I wanted to be at their softball games,” she added of her kids. “I wanted to be at school plays.”
Rosie is a mom to five children; she shares Parker, 31, Chelsea, 28, Blake, 26, and Vivienne, 23, with ex-wife Kelli Carpenter, who she was with for 11 years and married for one, and she also shares Clay, 13, with her late ex-wife Michelle Rounds.
She further told the outlet that Warner Brothers offered her another $100 million to continue the show for even just two more years, but she declined the offer. “They were like, ‘Why would you say no?’” she said, remembering her interaction with the TV execs.
“I was like, ‘Because I already have that money and if I think I need more, something’s wrong with me,'” she continued, noting she doesn’t “get the billionaires,” and emphasizing: “I don’t get how people only measure their life in money, not what they can do for other people.”
© InstagramRosie has been living in Ireland since late 2024, after Donald Trump was elected to a second term, however she is temporarily back in the U.S. while performing her one-woman show, Common Knowledge, for a limited run on Broadway.
“Although I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child,” Rosie said in March 2025 about her and Clay’s departure for Ireland. “When it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”
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