Lauryn Hill net worth: Fortune explored as Fugees member Pras files lawsuit over breach of contract 

Lauryn Hill has faced a new legal battle as her Fugees bandmate, Pras Michel, sued her for fraud and breach of contract. He made these claims over the band's shortened 2023 reunion tour and quietly canceled Miseducation anniversary tour a year later.

In Michel's lawsuit filed on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in the Southern District of New York, he alleged that Hill exploited his "vulnerable legal situation, manipulating him into an unfair agreement for The Fugees' 2023 reunion tour." His attorney, Robert S. Meloni, also said on Tuesday that Hill canceling the second half of the tour "financially penalized and defrauded the Ghetto Supastar rapper.

Meloni further noted that they want to hold Lauryn Hill accountable for misrepresenting "critical financial information," with Michel alleging that Hill's tour budget was inflated and heavily favored her financial gain. Moreover, the rapper has sought unspecified damages and demanded a trial by a jury.

For the unversed, Lauryn Hill started her singing career at an early age in the 1991 soap As the World Turns and the 1993 film Sister Act II: Back in the Habit. However, it was her on-and-off stint with the Fugees and her subsequent solo career that launched her name in the music scene. Her wealth is estimated to be around $9 million as per Celebrity Net Worth.

Meanwhile, Hill addressed the latest legal scuffle in an Instagram post on Tuesday, calling her former bandmate's lawsuit "baseless" and "full of false claims and unwarranted attacks." She called out Michel's motivations for the lawsuit, alleging that he's "under duress because of his legal battles." She also alluded to the rapper being found guilty of money laundering last year, among others.

She further claimed in her post:

"Pras was given a $3M advance for the tour, which he said he required to pay his legal fees. Wyclef and Myself deferred our full advances to make sure he had what he needed and was able to go."

Lauryn Hill went on to write:

"As of the last tour Pras thanked me for ‘saving his life’. (I have the receipts.)"

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A look at Lauryn Hill's financial issues and legal battle

Lauryn Hill is nothing new to legal troubles, as she's battled several throughout her career in the late 1990s. The Doo Woop (That Thing) singer reportedly earned around $25 million from album sales, touring, and merchandise sales at the height of her career, as per Celebrity Net Worth. But it dropped to $9 million as of October 2024 after years of financial issues.

According to Rolling Stone, the Grammy winner was forced to pay a $5 million settlement to a group of producers in 2001. Four musicians, who called themselves New Ark, filed a suit against Hill, claiming that they worked on arranging and producing all of the cuts on the singer's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The solo debut earned Hill a Grammy, and the four musicians wanted partial writing credit and percentages.

Lauryn Hill also received a three-month prison sentence for tax evasion. As per NBC News, the prosecutors noted that she had around $1 million of unpaid taxes for her earnings between 2005 and 2007, plus state and federal taxes from 2008 to 2009. The total owed amount was reportedly about $2.3 million.

She has since released several singles after the New Ark settlement, but no outputs received as much praise as the Miseducation. And per Pras Michel's recent complaint, Hill proposed the idea of a Fugees reunion early in 2023. He alleged that Hill realized that her chance to perform at arena-size venues was the band's 25th-anniversary tour.

According to Lauryn Hill's statement reported by Variety on August 7, 2024, the American leg of the tour was pulled allegedly because of low ticket sales. However, the UK and European tour will continue as planned and kick off on October 12.