Bill Maher has addressed questions about how he became "so rich," sharing that his lack of extravagant hobbies and decisions not to marry or have children have contributed to his wealth.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Maher, 68, has a net worth of $140 million, with a reported salary of $10 million for hosting HBO political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher. The TV personality, who has hosted the show since 2003, also presented similarly themed show Politically Incorrect between 1993 and 2002.
During a recent episode of his Club Random podcast, Maher was asked by his guest, fellow comic Nikki Glaser, about his life and personality.
After stating that he was "pretty sane," though has his "quirks," Maher said that he's a "cautious" person.
"I don't do stupid things," the host went on to explain. "People are always like, 'How did you get so rich?'…[I] never got married, no divorces, no alimony, no stupid hobbies. I don't collect cars and motorcycles and jewelry and art—and none of that would give me any pleasure.
"So it was all gravy money, you know…I just I don't need to live like that. Just comfort."
Glaser, 40, spoke about how also not having children has afforded her the time to enjoy such pursuits as attending 18 Taylor Swift concerts over a span of 15 months.
"I just travel and go see her any chance I have because it's the most fun thing imaginable to me," Swift told Maher. "I can't really talk about it that much because people are just like, 'Oh must be nice you can afford that.' It's like, I can because I don't have [a] kid…it's way cheaper than having a kid what I'm doing.
"Why don't people who have kids ever get comments like, 'Well, must be nice to have kids, you're flaunting your privilege.'…It's so strange to me," she said.
Maher responded by sharing an old joke of his that "maybe women thought…was sexist." He said: "The parents who like, have twins in the school play. You know, you can get off work. What if I have twins in the hot tub?"
While Maher, whose business interests includes a minority stake in the New York Mets, has never married, one of his past relationships made the headlines two decades ago.
Nancy "Coco" Johnsen, a former model and flight attendant who dated Maher for several months from January 2003, filed a palimony lawsuit against the comedian seeking $9 million and other unspecified damages in November 2004.
In her lawsuit, Johnsen claimed that after embarking on a relationship with Maher, she was persuaded by the TV host to quit her job at Delta Air Lines with the promise that he would marry and have children with her. She also alleged that Maher had vowed to buy her a Beverly Hills home previously lived in by Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, or a similar property.
Johnsen alleged that Maher subsequently "verbally abused" and angrily shook her at a party, causing neck and back injuries.
Maher sought to dismiss the lawsuit in the same month it was filed, stating that he was a "confirmed bachelor" who had never made any promises to support or get married to Johnsen.
In May 2005, a Superior Court judge threw out the palimony lawsuit.
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