Fame & Fortune: Rita Rudner
Comedian-writer lives in her money |
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Rita Rudner: He has all
these plans, and he says, "If we give it to these guys, they'll
do this." But I like sitting on that balcony looking on the
ocean. Our penthouse in Las Vegas has a view of the strip and of
the golf course, and it's just fantastic. We get the fireworks on
the strip, we get the mountains on one side, we get all the hotels,
they light up at night. It's a beautiful view. Then we go to Laguna
and get the ocean. My husband said, "Why keep it in the bank,
why not enjoy it?" So we're enjoying it. And the golf house
we bought from my in-laws.
Bankrate: Do you have
any more traditional investments, stocks, bonds ...?
Rita Rudner: Oh, he's
got that, too. But I'd say a lot of it is in property.
Bankrate:
Do you see yourself one day buying property you don't actually live in?
Rita Rudner: No. Why would
I do that? I don't get it. I like living in it. But I don't want
any more houses. I don't want a ski house. This is it.
Bankrate:
If the book really takes off and you have all this money and you don't want to
buy any more houses, what will you do with it?
Rita Rudner: I like what
Buddy Hackett said on the "Larry King" show a long time
ago. He said, "I like to keep putting my money in the bank,
'cause it keeps the rest of my money down." He loves to keep
piling money on top of money so it all stays down. So I'm just going
to make it stay down. I don't really think about it. I think about
the next book I'm going to write. I'll tell you my joke. I have
to save money for when Molly graduates. I have to save money for
bail.
Bankrate: (Laughs) That's
solid thinking, right there.
Rita Rudner: That's the
real world.
Bankrate:
Financially speaking, isn't Vegas the Holy Grail for stand-up comics?
Rita Rudner: It depends
on what you want out of your life. I don't want to travel anymore
because I'm very family-oriented, and I want to be with my husband
and my child and my dog. Other people find comfort being on the
road. They like being in a different place every day and the camaraderie
of a crew that follows them. That's like their family. So I think
it's an individual choice of what makes you happy, and it doesn't
have to be just one thing.
Bankrate:
If you were on the road, would that be as lucrative?
Rita Rudner: Vegas is
much more lucrative for me, because I have a job every night, and
a weekly sum that goes into my bank account. When I'm on the road
I do two nights a week here, then I come home for three days. I
do much better in Las Vegas. I'm the entertainer that, if I would
not have been married to the person that handles everything, I would
have woken up one morning and said, "Where'd it go?" It
would have been a mess. Luckily, it's been all in the family.
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