Prince (deceased)
$300 million
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA, via Wikipedia: David Foster
David Foster’s net worth is estimated at $150 million, accumulated over five decades as one of the most commercially successful music producers, composers, and songwriters in recorded-music history. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Foster has produced albums that have collectively sold more than 500 million copies worldwide and has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations — including three Producer of the Year trophies.
Updated March 2026: According to Music Business Worldwide, Foster completed a landmark catalog deal in April 2023 when he sold 100% of his writer’s share of performance income to Hipgnosis Songs Capital, covering nearly 50 years of songs — a transaction that converted decades of future royalties into upfront capital and is widely cited as the key liquidity event underpinning his $150 million fortune.
David Walter Foster was born on November 1, 1949, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to Maurice “Maury” Foster and Eleanor May Foster. The youngest of seven children, Foster demonstrated perfect pitch by age three. He began formal piano lessons at age four after his mother accidentally struck a key on the family piano and noticed his instinctive musical reaction.
Foster enrolled in the music program at the University of Washington at age 13 in 1963, one of the youngest students admitted at the time. He attended Mount Douglas Secondary School from 1964 to 1966 but did not graduate in the traditional sense; the school later awarded him a Dogwood Certificate in 1985 and named him Honorary Alumni President in 2010. By age 16, he was performing with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley as part of The Strangers, a Victoria-based band that toured Western Canada.
In 1973, Foster achieved his first chart success as a member of Skylark, a Vancouver pop group whose song “Wildflower” peaked in the top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. That breakthrough led to work as a studio musician in Los Angeles, where he quickly established himself as a first-call session keyboardist and arranger.
Foster’s professional career divides into three overlapping phases: session musician and arranger (1970s), producer and songwriter (1980s–2000s), and music executive and live performer (2010s–present).
In the late 1970s, he contributed keyboards and arrangements to albums by George Harrison (Extra Texture, 1975; Thirty Three & 1/3, 1976), Hall & Oates (Along the Red Ledge, 1978), and Earth, Wind & Fire (I Am, 1979). His co-write of “After the Love Has Gone” for Earth, Wind & Fire won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song — his first Grammy win.
The 1980s cemented his reputation as the dominant pop producer of the decade. He overhauled Chicago’s commercial fortunes, producing Chicago 16 (1982), 17 (1984), and 18 (1986), yielding No. 1 hits including “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and the Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers “Hard Habit to Break” and “You’re the Inspiration.” Foster won Producer of the Year at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for his work on Chicago 17. He also produced film soundtracks for St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) and The Secret of My Success (1987), and composed “Winter Games” for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
In the 1990s, Foster produced Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack (1992), one of the best-selling albums of all time, and co-wrote “I Have Nothing,” which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. He also produced Celine Dion’s breakthrough English-language album Unison (1990), Natalie Cole’s Grammy-winning Unforgettable… with Love (1991), and co-wrote “The Prayer” for Dion and Andrea Bocelli, which won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in 1999. Foster launched his boutique record label 143 Records in a joint venture with Warner Bros. in 1995, then sold his stake back to the company in 1997 and signed a multimillion-dollar exclusive pact with Warner Music Group, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
In the 2000s, Foster discovered and produced Josh Groban’s self-titled debut (2001) and Michael Bublé’s debut album (2003), launching both to international stardom. Bublé’s Crazy Love (2009), produced by Foster, won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album — Foster’s 16th Grammy win. He served as Chairman of Verve Music Group from 2011 to 2016 before departing in a corporate reorganization, as confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2007, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (U.S.) in 2010, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013. His Netflix documentary David Foster: Off the Record, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019, chronicled his career and personal life.
In 2025, Foster’s composition work for Boop! The Musical — a Broadway production based on Betty Boop, directed by Jerry Mitchell — earned him a Drama Desk Award nomination, marking his first major Broadway credit.
Foster’s wealth derives from multiple revenue streams accumulated across five decades:
Foster has been married five times. His first marriage to singer and writer B.J. Cook lasted from 1972 to 1981; they had one daughter, Amy (b. 1973). His second marriage to Rebecca Dyer (1982–1986) produced three daughters: Sara (b. 1981), Erin (b. 1982), and Jordan (b. 1986). Foster’s third wife was actress and songwriter Linda Thompson (m. 1991–2005), through whom he became stepfather to Brandon Jenner and Brody Jenner. His fourth marriage was to Dutch model and television personality Yolanda Hadid (m. 2011–2017); through that marriage he was stepfather to models Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, and Anwar Hadid. In addition, Foster’s first child, Allison Jones Foster, was born in 1970 before any of his marriages; he placed her for adoption and later reunited with her as an adult. Allison now serves as secretary of the David Foster Foundation.
Foster married Katharine McPhee — the singer and actress who was the runner-up on Season 5 of American Idol in 2006 — on June 28, 2019, in London. The couple welcomed a son, Rennie Foster, in February 2021. As of 2024, Foster has five daughters (Allison, Amy, Sara, Erin, Jordan), one son (Rennie), and nine grandchildren.
Foster and McPhee currently reside at their Brentwood Park, Los Angeles property, which they purchased in 2021 for $7.05 million and have expanded. A former Malibu oceanfront lot previously shared with Yolanda Hadid was listed for sale in October 2025 following damage in the Palisades Fire, according to TMZ.
Foster founded the David Foster Foundation in 1986, which supports Canadian families with children who require life-saving organ transplants and promotes organ donor awareness. The foundation has assisted more than 1,200 families and raised over $50 million since its inception. He has also volunteered his talent at more than 400 charitable events, including Muhammad Ali Celebrity Fight Night and the Andre Agassi Foundation.
Foster became a dual Canadian-American citizen in 2000 and is based in Los Angeles.
David Foster’s net worth is estimated at $150 million as of 2025–2026, according to industry tracking sources. His wealth was built over five decades as a record producer, songwriter, and music executive, with a major liquidity event in April 2023 when he sold his entire writer’s share of performance royalties to Hipgnosis Songs Capital. Additional income comes from real estate, live touring with wife Katharine McPhee, and executive roles at major labels.
David Foster’s wife is Katharine McPhee, the singer and actress best known as the Season 5 runner-up on American Idol (2006) and her starring role in the NBC series Smash. Foster and McPhee married on June 28, 2019, in a ceremony in London. They welcomed their son, Rennie Foster, in February 2021 and tour together under the “An Intimate Evening with David Foster and Katharine McPhee” concert series.
David Foster was born on November 1, 1949, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, making him 76 years old as of March 2026. He grew up in Victoria and enrolled in the University of Washington’s music program at age 13 before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a session musician and arranger. He became a dual Canadian-American citizen in 2000.
David Foster stands 5 feet 11.5 inches tall (181 cm), according to his IMDb profile. He has maintained a high-profile public presence through decades of television appearances, award shows, and live concert performances alongside major recording artists.
Foster does not disclose an annual salary figure publicly. His income streams include touring revenue from the annual “An Intimate Evening with David Foster and Katharine McPhee” concerts (with ticket prices ranging from approximately $75 to over $1,000 for VIP packages), production fees and advances on new projects, executive consulting, and investment returns. Following his April 2023 deal with Hipgnosis Songs Capital — in which he sold 100% of his writer’s share of performance royalties — his ongoing earnings no longer include those traditional songwriting royalties, as reported by Music Business Worldwide.
David Foster currently lives in the Brentwood Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He and Katharine McPhee purchased a six-bedroom, five-bathroom property there in October 2021 for $7.05 million, with plans to demolish the existing structure and build a larger custom residence, per Observer. Foster previously owned a Malibu oceanfront estate — which he shared with then-wife Yolanda Hadid — that sold in 2015 for $19.5 million, and a Victoria, B.C. penthouse sold in 2014 for $5 million.
David Foster has six children: daughters Allison Jones Foster (b. 1970, adopted out at birth and later reunited), Amy (b. 1973), Sara (b. 1981), Erin (b. 1982), and Jordan (b. 1986), and a son, Rennie Foster (b. February 2021), with his current wife Katharine McPhee. He also has nine grandchildren as of 2024. His eldest daughter Allison serves as secretary of the David Foster Foundation.