It's an open secret in Hollywood that Ellen DeGeneres — America's beloved talk show host and comedienne — moonlights as a successful house flipper.
Over the past 15 years, DeGeneres has amassed nothing short of a real estate empire. She buys and sells luxury California properties, sometimes living in multiple houses per year, and making huge profits from fixing them up. DeGeneres usually garners millions from her flips, selling her renovated homes to fellow A-listers like Ryan Seacrest and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
But she rejects the term "flipping" to describe her endeavors, insisting that her real estate gains are borne through sheer enjoyment, more than anything.
In a recent interview with The TODAY Show, DeGeneres said on the matter: "We buy a house and we love it, and we stay in it. Then we get a little bored because we like a different style or different aesthetic — and I love furniture and decorating — so if I find something else, and we make money, why not move to another house?"
DeGeneres documented her housing journey in a book published in 2015, called "Home." She and wife Portia de Rossi have bought everything from an upscale "treehouse" to a traditional horse ranch — and loved one property so much she ended up buying it twice.
Here's a chronological guide to some of DeGeneres' coolest — and most lucrative — real estate projects since 2004.
2004: "The Treehouse"
Purchased: $1.275 million
Sold: $2.1 million
This property in Laurel Canyon — nicknamed "The Treehouse"— has an impressive lineup of past owners. But DeGeneres started the trend in 2004, purchasing the hidden, woodsy bungalow for just over a million dollars.
According to Variety, she gave it a "Zen-modern" makeover and sold it to director David Weissman a year later, for almost a million more. Since then, it has been owned by Heath Ledger, Adrian Bellani, and is currently home to Josh Hutcherson.
2007: Montecito mansion
Purchased:$15,750,000
Sold: $20 million
This sprawling Montecito estate is Southern California at its finest — so fine, in fact, that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt bought the property from Ellen in 2007 for a whopping $20 million.
It has since become infamous for being the location of Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian's 2011 wedding. Schmidt reportedly considered selling it afterwards, as the mansion — which had been a popular wedding venue — was suddenly viewed as unlucky.
2008: Beverly Hills compound
Purchased: A combined $48 million
Sold: $37 million
DeGeneres and de Rossi bought this estate's original property for $29 million — until they decided to merge it with three adjacent homes, nearly doubling its value.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the couple spent five years in the 9,200-square-foot "compound," eventually selling it to Ryan Seacrest in 2012. This sale, however, marked a rare loss in profit for DeGeneres — most likely due to the drop in Los Angeles housing prices at the time.
Take a look inside here.
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