Sarah J. Maas’ Net Worth: From Adoption to “the Next J.K. Rowling”—How Much Does She Really Make?
Anyone who’s ever visited a bookstore recognizes the name Sarah J. Maas.
The author of some of the most well-known fantasy-romance series the world has seen—including A Court of Thorns, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City—Sarah J. Maas is a master storyteller.
In this article, I’ll discuss Sarah J. Maas’ net worth, her early life, education, and rise to success.
What Is Sarah J. Maas Net Worth?
Sarah J. Maas, full name Sarah Janet Mass, is an American author.
She’s best known for her fantasy series A Court of Thorns, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City, which consistently rank at the top of bestseller lists worldwide. As of 2024, her books have been translated into 38 languages and sold no less than 38 million copies.
Sarah J. Maas’ net worth is estimated to be around $40 million, making her one of the wealthiest authors in the US and worldwide. Maas’ books are highly acclaimed, with some news outlets calling her “the next J.K. Rowling.”
Who Is Sarah J. Maas? Early Life, Education, and Family
Sarah J. Maas was born on March 5, 1986. She was adopted by a wealthy family and lived a comfortable life, following a Jewish religion. There’s no available information about her birth parents.
Maas attended Dalton High School, a private school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
After high school, she graduated from Hamilton College in New York magna cum laude, majoring in creative writing and minoring in religious studies.
Early Career
Maas’ love for writing started at a young age. She began uploading the first draft of what would become “Throne of Glass” at a writing website, FictionPress.com, at only 16 years old.
The book, then titled Queen of Glass, became one of the most-read original works on the site. The premise was simple: What if Cinderella wasn’t a servant but an assassin?
Due to overwhelming positivity and encouragement from her readers, Maas officially published Queen of Glass, renaming it Throne of Glass.
In 2008, Maas removed the story from the website and sent it to several agents for publishing. She signed with Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dail Literary Agency a year later.
Throne of Glass was a near-instant success, resulting in Bloomsbury Publishing—one of the largest publishing houses in the world—purchasing two additional books in the series.
Rise to Success
After the smashing success of the Throne of Glass series, Maas published another series: A Court of Thorns and Roses. Likely, even Maas herself wouldn’t have imagined the global impact her second series would make.
A Court of Thorns is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It follows Feyre Archeron, a human huntress who was dragged to the land of faeries after murdering a faerie disguised as a wolf.
Maas published her first adult fantasy series, Crescent City, on May 16, 2018.
As with her two other series, Crescent City was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews and quickly climbed the bestseller lists.
The series’ first installment, House of Earth and Blood, ranked #1 in Kobo’s Top 20 Science Fiction & Fantasy books and Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fantasy of 2020.
The 2022 sequel, House of Sky and Breath, also won the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fantasy of that year.
In 2021, Maas announced on her Instagram that A Court of Thorns and Roses will be adapted into a TV series on Hulu.
As of 2024, the TV series has had no significant developments. However, a recent article published by Entertainment Weekly mentions that the A Court of Thorns and Roses series is “still in development” and not canceled, as many fans had feared.
Personal Life
Sarah J. Maas keeps her personal life relatively private, focusing more on her writing, her fans, and the upcoming TV show she’s co-adapting with American screenwriter and television producer Ron Moore.
However, she’s been quite open about how she and her husband, Josh Wasserman, met.
Josh Wasserman and Sarah J. Maas were college sweethearts. Maas was a freshman then, and Wasserman was assigned as her dorm’s resident assistant. Maas fell for Wasserman as soon as she set her eyes on her. Wasserman was Maas’ first boyfriend.
The duo tied the knot on May 30, 2010, and had their first son, Taran, on June 1, 2018, and daughter, Sloane, on February 8, 2022.
Final Thoughts
As of 2024, Sarah J. Maas’ net worth is estimated at $40 million.
Throughout her career, she has sold 38 million copies worldwide and has had her books translated into 38 different languages.
Her most popular series, A Court of Thorns, is currently in development for a TV adaptation on Hulu.
