Sarah McLachlan Net Worth

What is Sarah McLachlan's Net Worth?

Sarah McLachlan is a singer-songwriter from Canada known for her highly emotional ballads. Sarah McLachlan has a net worth of $50 million. Her best-selling album, 1997's "Surfacing," won two Grammy Awards and four Juno Awards. She has sold more than 50 million albums world wide to date as a solo artist. Beyond her solo music career, McLachlan founded the Lilith Fair tour, which brought together a wide range of female musicians.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Sarah McLachlan was born in 1968 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was adopted by the McLachlan family. As a kid, she was a member of Girl Guides of Canada, and began playing the ukulele at the age of four. Subsequently, she studied piano, guitar, and voice at the Maritime Conservatory of Music, and attended Queen Elizabeth High School. While at the latter, McLachlan fronted a short-lived rock band called the October Game. After the band's first concert at Dalhousie University, McLachlan was offered a recording contract with the Vancouver-based independent label Nettwerk. However, at the urging of her parents, she first finished high school and did one year of studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. With this education out of the way, McLachlan moved to Vancouver to pursue her recording career.

After signing with Nettwerk in Vancouver, McLachlan released her debut album, "Touch," in 1987. It was her next album, however, that proved to be her big commercial breakthrough in Canada. Released in 1991, that album, "Solace," launched the hit singles "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" and "Into the Fire."

International Breakthroughs

McLachlan continued her success in 1993 with the album "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy," which was an immediate hit in her native Canada. Over the following two years, the album became her international breakthrough as well, making it onto the charts in numerous countries including the United States. In 1997, McLachlan had her greatest commercial success with "Surfacing," which remains her best-selling and best-known album. Peaking atop the Canadian RPM 100 Albums chart and reaching number two on the US Billboard 200, it became certified Diamond in Canada and eight-times Platinum in the US. "Surfacing" spawned the hit singles "Building a Mystery," "Sweet Surrender," "Adia," and "Angel." Moreover, it won the Juno Award for Album of the Year, and took home two Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Further Albums

In 2003, McLachlan released her fifth album, "Afterglow"; among its singles were "Fallen" and "World on Fire." Three years later, she put out a Christmas album entitled "Wintersong," which featured covers of both pop hits and seasonal tunes. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Following this, McLachlan released the compilation album "Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2," and the greatest hits album "Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan." In 2010, McLachlan released "Laws of Illusion," her first album of original material in close to seven years. Among McLachlan's later albums are "Shine On," which was inspired by her late father, and "Wonderland," a Christmas album containing interpretations of traditional and contemporary holiday songs.

Derek Leung / Getty Images

Lilith Fair

Frustrated by the lack of multiple female artists at concerts and on radio stations, McLachlan booked a tour for herself and Paula Cole in 1996. The following year, she founded what would become known as the Lilith Fair tour, featuring a lineup composed entirely of female musicians. The 1997 edition of the Fair brought in $16 million, while over three years, the Fair helped raise more than $7 million for charity. Although the tour was discontinued in 1999, it returned briefly in 2010. However, financial issues and poor ticket sales led to the cancellation of many of its shows.

Additional Projects

In addition to her own albums, McLachlan has contributed music to a variety of other projects. One of the most notable is the 1999 animated film "Toy Story 2," for which she sang the Oscar-nominated song "When She Loved Me." Also in the 90s, McLachlan co-wrote and lent her vocals to the Delerium song "Silence." In the early 2000s, she provided both background vocals and instrumentation to Stevie Nicks' "Love Is," and did a duet with Bryan Adams on the soundtrack for the animated film "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron." Later, in 2010, McLachlan recorded "One Dream," the official theme song of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

As a guest vocalist, McLachlan has appeared on albums by artists such as Blue Rodeo, Stephen Fearing, Annie Lennox, and Heart.

Relationships

In 1997, McLachlan married drummer Ashwin Sood; they had two daughters, and divorced in 2008.

Real Estate

In 2003 Sarah paid $3 million for a 4-acre property in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The property features am 8,000 square-foot home. Sarah listed the home for sale in 2015 $10.1 million. It took seven years before she found a buyer. She finally sold the home in June 2021 for $9 million:

Philanthropy

McLachlan is well known for her many philanthropic contributions. She originated the Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach, which provided music education to inner-city children in Vancouver. In 2011, she opened the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, a free school for at-risk youth that gives group and private lessons to hundreds of young people each year. The school has locations in both Vancouver and Edmonton, Alberta. Among her other humanitarian efforts, McLachlan has been involved in tsunami disaster relief, raised money for women's charities and AIDS sufferers, and advocated for the charity Artists Against Racism.

One of McLachlan's most famous philanthropic engagements is with the nonprofit ASPCA. Her song "Angel" features in the organization's two-minute advertisements, in which she also makes requests for donations. Since the ad first aired in 2006, it has helped raise $30 million for the ASPCA. McLachlan filmed another ad for the group in 2008 that featured her rendition of "Silent Night."