This Is How Drake Made His Fortune:
Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur. He is one of the most successful artists in the music industry, with a net worth of over $180 million as of 2021. Drake’s fortune has been built over the years through a combination of his music career, business ventures, and investments.
Drake’s music career began in 2006 when he released his first mixtape, “Room for Improvement.” Since then, he has released several albums and mixtapes that have sold millions of copies worldwide. He has won four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, and 27 Billboard Music Awards, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His music has also been streamed billions of times on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, generating significant revenue for him.
In addition to his music career, Drake has also made significant investments in several businesses. One of his most notable investments was in the Virginia Black whiskey brand, where he served as a co-founder and owner. The brand has been incredibly successful, with sales exceeding $1 billion as of 2021. Drake also has a partnership with Nike’s Jordan brand, where he has released several signature shoes and clothing lines. He also launched his own clothing line, OVO, which has been successful in the fashion industry. Drake has also invested in other ventures such as a restaurant, a startup called Omni Calculator, and a cannabis company.
Drake has also made significant profits from his real estate investments. He reportedly owns a $100 million estate in Toronto, Canada, which features a basketball court, a swimming pool, a recording studio, and several other amenities. He has also invested in properties in Los Angeles, where he owns a $7.7 million mansion in the exclusive Hidden Hills neighborhood.
Another source of Drake’s wealth is through touring and live performances. He has headlined several tours and concerts, including the Aubrey & The Three Migos tour, which grossed over $79 million in ticket sales. Drake’s music has also been featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials, earning him significant royalties and licensing fees.
In conclusion, Drake’s fortune has been built through a combination of his music career, business ventures, and investments. He has made significant profits from his music, real estate investments, partnerships, and other businesses. His success has been driven by his talent, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit. With his net worth continuing to grow, it is evident that Drake’s success story is far from over.
- Category: Richest Celebrities › Rappers
- Net Worth:Â $250 Million
- Salary: $70 Million Per Year
- Date of Birth: Oct 24, 1986 (36 years old)
- Place of Birth: Toronto
- Gender:Â Male
- Height: 6 ft (1.83 m)
- Profession: Actor, Singer, Songwriter, Rapper, Voice Actor, Composer, Record producer
- Nationality: Canada
Since first gaining mainstream success, Drake has earned more than $430 million in his career before taxes and lifestyle costs.
Between June 2017 and June 2018 Drake earned $45 million. In 2017 he earned a total of $95 million. Between June 2018 and June 2019, he earned $75 million. In the following 12-month period he earned $50 million. Scroll down for a full year-by-year breakdown of Drake’s annual earnings.
Universal Music Group Contract
On the company’s Q1 earnings call in May 2022, Universal Music Group confirmed it had re-signed Drake to a “long-term worldwide partnership” the deal included everything from “recorded music to music publishing, film, television and brands.” Drake has alluded to this deal in a few lyrics. In one song he rapped about signing a deal that came with “360 up front.” In light of Universal’s confirmation, some have taken that lyric to mean the deal paid him $360 million up front. Other sources have estimated the value of the deal at $400 million or more. In the years prior to signing, Drake’s music catalog alone had been generating $50 million per year in revenue annually for the company.
Assuming the deal was indeed worth $400 million, after taxes Drake would have theoretically been paid $200 million upfront after taxes.
Early Life
Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Canada. Drake’s father Dennis worked as a drummer who played with musicians like Jerry Lee Lewis during his career. Drake’s mother Sandra, aka Sandi, worked as an English teacher and florist. Drake attended a Jewish day school and had a formal Bar Mitzvah celebration.
Sandi and Dennis divorced when Aubrey was five. His father subsequently moved to Memphis where he ultimately ended up being arrested and incarcerated for several years on drug charges. Aubrey remained with his mother in Toronto though he would visit his father in Memphis every summer (when his father was not incarcerated). Drake would later describe Dennis as being absent during his childhood, claims Dennis has vehemently denied and asserted were embellished to sell records.
From sixth grade on, Drake and his mom lived in the bottom half of a two story town home in an affluent suburb called Forest Hill. His mother lived on the street-level floor, Drake lived in the basement. They were not rich, in fact money was very tight.
While attending Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, Drake found an affinity for acting and singing. He later attended Vaughan Road Academy where he was bullied for his bi-racial and religious background. He dropped out for a time, but did eventually graduate in 2012.
Music Career
Inspired by rap icons like Jay-Z who earned record deals after becoming successful as independent artists, Aubrey – who by now was going by his middle name “Drake” as his stage name – began releasing mixtapes in 2006.
In February 2005 he released his first mixtape “Room for Improvement” via his website and official MySpace page. He managed to sell more than 6,000 copies directly. He released his second mixtape, “Comeback Season”, the following year. He released the mixtape through his own recently-launched label October’s Very Own (aka OVO Records). This mixtape featured what became a hit underground single called “Replacement Girl”. The music video for the song was the first video from an unsigned Canadian rapper to be featured on BET. One version of the song featured a spliced sample of the song “Man of the Year” by Brisco, Flo Rida and Lil Wayne.
Houston-based producer and Rap-A-Lot Records founder, Jas Prince, heard the single and passed it on to Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne was impressed and called Drake, inviting him to fly to Houston to join his Tha Carter III tour. As the tour progressed, Drake and Wayne wrote and recorded several songs including “Brand New”, “Forever” and “Ransom”.
Young Money Entertainment
Despite what you may assume, Drake had not signed onto Wayne’s record label at this point. He released a third mixtape, “So Far Gone”, in 2009. He released the mixtape as a free download on his OVO website. The mixtape featured appearances from Lil Wayne, Lloyd, Trey Songz, Omarian and Bun B. After being downloaded 2000 times in its first hour, the mixtape was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The mixtape was eventually released as an EP which debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 and won the 2010 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year.
Still an independent artist, Drake was now in high demand within the music industry. A bidding war resulted with various labels scrambling to sign him. The desperation has been described as “the biggest bidding war in music history”, though that’s not confirmed.
On June 29, 2009, Drake signed a contract with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment. The record deal was actually a joint venture between Young Money and its parent company Cash Money, with Universal Music running distribution.
Singles Sold
Drake has sold more digital singles than any artist in history. As of this writing he has sold more than 163 million digital singles. That’s 40 million more than the second place person, Rihanna. In terms of album sales, is the 80th highest-selling musician of all time with an estimated 26 million albums sold. That makes him the third best-selling Canadian musician of all time behind Shania Twain (48 million) and Celine Dion (50 million).
Drake’s Earnings By Year
2010: $10 million
2011: $11 million
2012: $21 million
2013: $11 million
2014: $33 million
2015: $40 million
2016: $40 million
2017: $95 million
2018: $47 million
2019: $75 million
2020: $50 million
Total: $433 million
Real Estate
Though he was born in Canada, Drake has called Hidden Hills, California home since 2012 when he bought a palatial mansion from the former owner of Los Angeles’ Saddle Ranch Bar for $7.7 million in cash. Nicknamed the YOLO Estate, the property features multiple residences including a 12,000 square-foot main house and a 2,000 square foot party house. The estate features equestrian stables, 25-person movie theater, a full-sized basketball court, sand volleyball court and one of the largest privately-owned pools in Southern California. His lagoon-like pool, which loops around the exterior of the house, features with several waterfalls, a swim-up bar an 80-foot water slide and Playboy-mansion style grotto.
In a Rolling Stone interview Drake explained that he had his eye on this mansion for years after Googling “craziest residential swimming pools” and seeing this as one of the results. For motivation, he used a photo of the pool as the background image on his computer for years. The former owner listed the house in 2009 for $27 million. By 2012 the former owner was experiencing a cash crunch so Drake swooped in and bought it for $7.7 million:
In 2015 he extended his property by buying the neighboring 1.6 acre estate for $2.8 million. In 2018 he extended the property again when he spent $4.5 million to buy yet another neighboring house. His private estate now encompasses 6.7-acres of contiguous property at the end of a cul-de-sac that represent $15 million in real estate acquisition costs alone.
Drake listed the YOLO Estate in March 2022 for $22.7 million. A buyer could also buy just the primary mansion for $14.8 million.
In 2016 Drake spent $6.7 million to buy a plot of land in suburban Toronto in an area called The Bridle Path. He proceeded to build a 50,000 square-foot mansion on the two-acre property. The house features a 10-car garage, regulation-size NBA basketball court, gym, awards room and much more. The master bedroom alone is 3,200 square-feet.
On March 8, 2022 it was reported that Drake had secured a deal to buy British singer Robbie Williams’ 20-acre Beverly Hills mansion. The price Drake paid in an off-market deal? “Mid $70 million,” according to a source who spoke with the LA Times.
He also owns a condo in downtown Toronto.
In total, Drake owns at least $100 million worth of real estate assets.
Properties:
In May 2019 Drake released a video on Instagram that revealed his newly-acquired Boeing 767 private jet which he has dubbed (and painted) “Air Drake”. According to the video, Drake is proud to own the jet free and clear, proclaiming that it’s all his with “no rental, no timeshare, no co-owners.” A similar model and quality private jet would be worth $75 – $100 million.
Drake’s Net Worth Milestones
We first added Drake to Celebrity Net Worth in November 2009 with an initial net worth estimate of $1 million. He had signed with Lil Wayne’s Young Money just a few months earlier. By 2012 his net worth topped $25 million. By 2014 he topped $45 million. By late 2016 he topped $80 million for the first time. Thanks to his incredible near-$100 million earning 2017, he easily topped $100 million by early 2018. In May 2019 his net worth broke $150 million for the first time.
Business Ventures
Over the years Drake has endorsed many major brands including most notably, Sprite, Burger King, Whataburger, Nike and Apple. When Apple Music launched, Drake signed a $19 million exclusivity deal. This deal allowed Apple to be the exclusive initial home of all of Drake’s future solo releases.
In 2012 Drake formed his own record label, OVO Sound, which is distributed by Warner Bros. Records. In addition to Drake, today OVO Sound reps music for artists such as PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, Kash Doll and producers such as Boi-1da, Future the Prince, Mike Zombie and more.
He is the “global ambassador” of the Toronto Raptors and hosts an annual Drake Night with the team.
In 2016 Drake launched his own brand of bourbon-based whiskey called Virginia Black. The company sold 4,000 bottles in the first week after launching. Later in the year the company shipped an additional 30,000 units.
Personal:
Drake has had a number of high profile relationships over the years. He dated Rihanna on and off between 2009 and 2016. He would later describe Rihanna as “the woman I’ve been in love with since I was 22 years old.”
In October 2017 a french model/actress/artist named Sophie Brussaux gave birth to his son Adonis. Drake did not confirm his fatherhood until 2018.
