The comedian, actor and former talk show host, 64, reflected on her decision to leave The Rosie O'Donnell Show at the height of its popularity in an interview with Page Six, saying she stepped away from the Emmy-winning program in 2002 despite Warner Bros offering her another reported $US100 million ($A144 million) to continue for two more years.
Speaking about the moment she realised her financial security gave her the freedom to step away, O'Donnell said hearing how much money she had accumulated changed everything.
"When I heard that (number), I thought, 'Okay, now I'm done," she said.
"And everyone was like, 'Why are you leaving?'"
O'Donnell said she wanted to devote more time to her family once she knew she "had enough money to take care of everyone in my life, philanthropy and strangers".
"I wanted to be at their softball games. I wanted to be at school plays."
O'Donnell said Warner Bros. attempted to persuade her to remain on air by offering another $US100 million for two additional years of The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
"They were like, 'Why would you say no?'"
O'Donnell said she replied: "Because I already have that money and if I think I need more, something's wrong with me."
"I don't get the billionaires. I don't get how people only measure their life in money, not what they can do for other people."
The revelation comes as O'Donnell returns to the US for a limited Broadway run of her one-woman show Common Knowledge, after relocating to Ireland following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election.
O'Donnell is currently performing Common Knowledge on Broadway, where the autobiographical production explores episodes from her childhood, including the death of her mother from breast cancer when she was 10, alongside her experiences living in Ireland and raising her youngest child, Clay, who has autism.
The show centres on motherhood and how a "motherless daughter" learned "to be a mother to all these children".
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