Joe Hockey has said if he did not retire from the Parliament he would have been focused on "getting even with people" who contributed to his downfall as treasurer.

In an interview with businessman Mark Bouris – best known as the founder of Wizard Home Loans and host of The Celebrity Apprentice – Mr Hockey said leaving politics ensured he did not reflect too much on the leadership spill that ended Tony Abbott's prime ministership.

"I've just turned 50, so, you've always got to look at the next challenge and I think that's part of it," he says in the interview on The Mark Bouris Show.