Let’s look into the interesting world of Drake’s net worth and into his life as the famous hip-hop artist. Explore the vast wealth of one of the most important people in the music business, from hit songs to business ventures.
Early Life
His birthplace was Toronto, Ontario, on October 24, 1986. Dennis Graham, his Memphis-born drummer father, played with Jerry Lee Lewis. Ashkenazi’s Jewish mother is Canadian Sandra “Sandi” Graham. English teacher training and marriage. Graham performed at Toronto’s Club Bluenote and met Sandra. Drake is American/Canadian. Graham granted U.S. citizenship. He had a bar mitzvah at a Jewish day school.
Drake was five when his parents divorced. After the divorce, his mother and he lived in Toronto. The father returned to Memphis and served years for drug offenses. He lived in the U.S. until Drake was a young adult for financial and legal reasons. Graham brought Drake from Toronto to Memphis every summer before being caught. Graham claimed in an interview that Drake lied about not being with his kids to sell more music, which Drake denies.
Drake said, “We had a half of a house we could live in” about moving. We had the bottom; they had the top. I lived in the basement, and my mother in the first. The room was small and basic. We could afford it. Drake’s 1997 NHL Awards comedy sketch at 10 showed his artistic side. Martin Brodeur and Ron Hextall were mocked as the only goalies with multiple goals.
His high schools were Forest Hill Collegiate Institute and Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto’s diverse Oakwood–Vaughan neighborhood. Drake called Vaughan Road Academy “not by any means the easiest school to attend.”
Drake worked at his maternal grandfather Reuben Sher’s Toronto furniture factory in his teens. Factory closes. Drake claimed race and religion motivated school bullying. He quit school when he realized his busy schedule hurt his acting career. Drake graduated from high school in October 2012.
Music Career
✅2001-2009
Drake met an acting agent through the father of a high school friend when he was 15. He was eager to start his career as an actor. Drake got a part in the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. It is the fourth show in the Degrassi franchise and picks up where Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High left off in the 1980s.
Drake played Jimmy Brooks, a basketball star who lost his ability to move after being shot by a classmate, on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake reportedly didn’t like this character arc because it seemed like a cheap shot (his character was the only black one in the series), and he thought it could hurt his reputation as a rapper.
Madeleine Robinson, executive director of the Californian non-profit Wheelchair 4 Kids, said that the story and Drake’s performance were great and that “he instilled confidence and representation” in disabled youth. Drake said, “My mother was very sick” when asked about his early acting days. We were really poor, like broke. Canuck TV was the only thing that made me money.
Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn, who run the show, say that Drake often got to work late because he had been recording music all night. To stop this from happening, Schuyler said Drake made a deal with the security guards at the set so that he could get back in after recording and sleep in a dressing room.
Early Mixtapes and So Far Gone
Drake released Room for Improvement in 2006. Clipse and Jay-Z inspired him. Boi-1da and Frank Dukes produced the Trey Songz and Lupe Fiasco mixtape. Drake said the mixtape was “pretty straightforward, radio-friendly, and not much content to it.” Room for Improvement sold 6,000 copies, earning Drake $304.04 in royalties. His first concert was opening for Ice Cube at Kool Haus on August 19, 2006. His 30-minute performance earned $100. In 2007, Drake released Comeback Season, his second mixtape. He produced “Replacement Girl” with Trey Songz on October’s Very Own, his new label.
Drake was Canada’s first unsigned rapper with a BET video. April 2007’s “New Joint of the Day” featured “Replacement Girl.” Drake sampled Brisco, Flo Rida, and Lil Wayne’s “Man of the Year” and added his verse at the start. Jas Prince gave Lil Wayne the song, and Wayne invited Drake on his Houston Tha Carter III tour. Drake and Lil Wayne recorded “Ransom,” “Forever,” and a “Brand New” remix on tour.
Drake released So Far Gone, his third mixtape, in 2009. It was free to download from his OVO blog and featured Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, Omarion, Lloyd, and Bun B. “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful” helped it sell over 2,000 copies in two hours. The RIAA certified both Platinum and “Best I Ever Had” and reached #2 on the Hot 100.
Therefore, the mixtape was rereleased as an EP with four original songs, and “I’m Goin’ In” and “Fear” were added. It peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and won Rap Recording of the Year at Juno 2010. The success of Drake’s mixtape sparked “one of the biggest bidding wars ever.”
✅2010-2012
When Drake’s highly anticipated first album, “Thank Me Later,” came out in 2010, it started his rise to fame. The album went straight to the top of the Billboard 200, becoming the best-selling debut album for any artist that year. The first singles, “Over” and “Find Your Love,” not only topped the charts but also got great reviews, paving the way for Drake’s instant fame.
Drake continued his musical dominance in 2011 with the release of “Take Care,” an album that got great reviews from critics and won the prestigious Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. This was a turning point in his career that showed not only how good he was getting technically but also how he could write honest, emotional lyrics. The album’s singles, like “The Motto” and “Take Care,” were big hits in the music industry and had a lasting effect on culture. “The Motto” even made the phrase “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) extremely popular.
Drake’s popularity in music kept growing, so to promote his second album, he went on the worldwide Club Paradise Tour. More than $42 million was raised during the tour, making it the biggest hip-hop event of 2012. This showed how good Drake is as a live performer and made him even more of a big deal in the music business. Drake showed he could do more than make music when he returned to acting and played Ethan in “Ice Age: Continental Drift.” Adding voice acting to his already long list of skills made his career even more interesting.
✅2013-2015
Drake revealed the release of his third record on the Club Paradise Tour Europe. His goal was to change the style of his previous album, Take Care, with British producer Jamie xx. He announced the album’s first single at the January 2013 Grammys. This revealed the album’s title, “Nothing Was the Same.”
“Hold On, We’re Going Home,” the second single, was huge. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was certified 6x Multi-Platinum. Drake won his second MTV Video Music Award in 2014 for the Miami Vice-themed music video.
On September 24, 2013, “Nothing Was the Same” topped the Billboard 200. It was praised for its tone and subject matter change. Songs like “Would You like a Tour?” made the album more popular, earning $46 million. Drake debuted in Spanish music in 2014 with Romeo Santos’ “Odio.” His remix of ILoveMakonnen’s “Tuesday” also topped the charts. It got double platinum in America. He released “0 to 100 / The Catch-Up,” a non-album single.
On February 12, 2015, Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” dropped on iTunes without warning, shocking fans. Despite classification disputes, it sold over a million copies in 2015, making Drake the first artist to have a platinum project. This was his fourth Cash Money Records album, ending rumors of his departure. Drake’s constant changes and successes in expected and unexpected releases kept fans interested and made him a Grammy-winning artist.
✅2015-2017
In July 2015, Drake released “Back to Back,” “Charged Up,” “Hotline Bling,” and “Right Hand.” Drake is the first hip-hop artist to top the Billboard 200 since 2004 with “What a Time to Be Alive,” a mixtape with Future.
Drake’s fourth studio album, “Views,” is from the 6. The announcement came in January 2016. Drake’s “Summer Sixteen” song compared Drake’s hip-hop skills to older artists, making waves. In April 2016, Drake released “Pop Style” and “One Dance.” Drake’s first No. 1 single was “One Dance” in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Drake had his biggest hit with “Views” (April 29, 2016). It reached platinum six times in the U.S. after 13 weeks on the Billboard 200. It was criticized for its length and cohesion despite its box-office success.
Drake showed his range in “Please Forgive Me,” a short film. Hosting Saturday Night Live in May 2016. Forbes ranked him the fifth richest hip-hop artist. Future’s “Summer Sixteen Tour” grossed $84.3 million, the most in hip-hop. Drake and Kanye discussed working together. Drake led “Child’s Play” and scored “Please Forgive Me” with “Views.” Drake took home Album of the Year and Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2016 BETs. Nominated for 10 awards.
Drake began his “Boy Meets World Tour” in Europe and announced “More Life,” a December 2016 release. Despite setbacks, “More Life” topped the Billboard 200 in March 2017 and received positive reviews. Drake set a record with 13 Billboard Music Awards in 2017. Metro Boomin and Offset’s collaboration and Drake’s 2018 “Signs” kept things going. Drake was on the Hot 100 for eight years and won many music awards, even though “More Life” wasn’t nominated for a Grammy in 2018.
✅2018-2019
His late 2017 studio album will feature many artists, according to Drake. Leaked music clips excited people. In January 2018, Drake released “Diplomatic Immunity” and “God’s Plan” on his mini EP “Scary Hours.” He won streaming records with “God’s Plan,” his first solo number one. RIAA certified it Diamond.
Migos and BlocBoy JB collaborated on Drake’s 70th top 40 hit. The number-one switch from “God’s Plan” to “Nice For What” was historic. As the third single from his fifth studio album “Scorpion,” “I’m Upset,” Drake shocked fans. In its first week, “Scorpion” sold 749,000 copies as a double album, breaking all global streaming records in June 2018.
The Guardian and Rolling Stone called Drake the best pop star of his time. Freestyles with Link Up TV and Fire in the Booth showcased his lyricism. The “#InMyFeelingsChallenge” went viral after his sixth number one, “In My Feelings”. Travis Scott’s number-one song, “Sicko Mode,” used Drake’s vocals without credit.
Drake took a July 2018 break for Euphoria and Top Boy. On the Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour, Bad Bunny and Aubrey recorded “Mia.” Drake won Hot Ticket Performer at the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards. He announced that his next project would begin in early 2019 at a November show.
In February 2019, Drake won the 61st Grammy for Best Rap Song for “God’s Plan.” On its 10th anniversary, his new “So Far Gone.” Drake released “Omertà” and “Money in the Grave” with Summer Walker and Chris Brown on June 15 to celebrate the Raptors’ NBA title. His album “Care Package” topped the Billboard 200 in August.
✅2019-2021
Drake’s “War,” released in December 2019 and praised for sounding like a UK drill, hinted at his sixth studio album. He put out several singles in 2020, including “Toosie Slide,” which went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In May, he put out the “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” mixtape, which had songs with Chris Brown, Future, and other artists.
Drake has had a lot of success and worked with DJ Khaled on hits like “Greece” and “Popstar.” “Laugh Now Cry Later” was the first single from “Certified Lover Boy,” which was supposed to come out in January 2021 but came out on August 14. The release was put off because of a knee injury that needed surgery.
In December 2020, Drake worked with Lil Wayne again on “B.B. King Freestyle.” All three songs on his EP “Scary Hours 2,” which came out in March 2021, went straight to the top three on the Hot 100. Adding to his busy year, he was on Nicki Minaj’s song “Seeing Green” and was honored at the Billboard Music Awards as Artist of the Decade.
Drake kept working with other artists all through 2021. He was on Migos’ “Having Our Way” and Brent Faiyaz’s “Wasting Time.” His album “Certified Lover Boy” finally came out on September 3. It went straight to number one on the Billboard 200, and all its songs made it into the Hot 100. The album was nominated for a Grammy and set records for the most weeks at number one on the Hot 100. There were problems between Drake and the Recording Academy, but his impact in 2021 was undeniable. He was named Billboard’s Top Artist of the Year and became the most-streamed artist in the US.
✅2022-Present
Drake and Gunna worked together on DS4Ever’s deluxe edition in January 2022. His next song was “Staying Alive,” which he did with DJ Khaled and Lil Baby. It was the lead single from Khaled’s album God Did. Forbes ranked Drake as the fourth highest-paid rapper in early 2022, and he won Hip-Hop Artist of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2022. Drake’s financial success and return to touring were also praised.
Drake’s streams topped all songs released before 1980 in April 2022. He was on Future’s album I Never Liked You, and the song “Wait for U” became his tenth number-one. He signed a big deal with Universal Music Group in May. It was said to be worth up to $400 million. Honestly, Nevermind, Drake’s seventh album, came out in June and became his eleventh number-one album in the US. “Jimmy Cooks” was his eleventh number-one song in the US, but “Texts Go Green” fell a lot on the Billboard Hot 100.
Drake kept getting news coverage when he announced the “October World Weekend” concert series. He worked on Renaissance with Beyoncé and put out the music video for “Sticky.” Following this, Drake announced a special two-night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, signed a new deal with SiriusXM, and said that his seventh album, “For All the Dogs,” would be out on October 6, 2023, with the single “Slime You Out” featuring SZA. He later shocked his fans when “8 AM in Charlotte” came out on October 5, 2023.
Musical Influences and Style
Many hip-hop artists and others, have been credited by Drake for influencing his rap style. He has also said that Aaliyah and Usher were responsible for incorporating R&B into his music. Many dancehall artists, including Vybz Kartel, whom Drake has called one of his “biggest inspirations,” have also influenced Drake’s Caribbean-influenced style.
Drake is classified as a pop-rapper. Drake’s music has shifted from hip-hop and R&B to pop and trap since Nothing Was the Same (2013) and Views (2016). In addition, UK drill and Jamaican dancehall have influenced his music. Drake writes cocky lyrics, uses personal history, and is technically skilled in his songs about women. His singing is praised for its unique blend of hip-hop beats and melody, rough rapping, and smoother accents delivered on technical lyricism.
His songs often use Caribbean and Middle Eastern words like “ting,” “touching road,” “talkin’ bossy,” and “guanine way” and change their pronunciation to reflect his upbringing in Toronto. He raps and sings in his R&B and Canadian hip-hop songs. He says his father taught him to sing on his rap mixtapes, which are now important to his music. Lil Wayne supported Drake’s use of melody in technically difficult lyrics and has since been critically acclaimed in his singles and albums. Drake’s R&B has empty beats and rap-sung contrast. Mainstream audiences love it, inspiring many to copy it.
Drake fans think his lyrics are emotional or boastful. Drake is lauded for elevating “degrading” topics like money, drugs, and women. He often alters word meanings and blends objective and subjective viewpoints in his speech. His songs are tense between “pause and pace, tone timbre, volume and vocal fermata.” Drake invented “hyper-reality rap”. This style emphasizes the celebrity’s difference from the “real world.”
Achievements
Drake sells 142 million digital singles and on-demand streams, making him the most certified US artist. He has 15 Platinum records for “God’s Plan.” He has Diamonds for “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance”. Drake topped Spotify’s 2010 streaming chart.
No artist has more Billboard Hot 100 chart songs (321), top 10 singles (76), top 10 debuts (61), full 10 singles in a year (13), weeks in the top 10 (384), number two songs (11, including “BedRock” with Young Money), or weeks on the chart in a row (431 weeks). He is the rapper with the most number-one songs, with 14, including his uncredited “Sicko Mode.” Drake became the second act after The Beatles to top the Hot 100’s top five in a week in 2021. The first was 1964. His 23 Hot Rap Songs, 23 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and 23 Airplay songs are number one. He is the only artist with two 400-week Billboard 200 albums.
Drake has four Grammys from 47 nominations in 2021. Additionally, he has 29 Billboard Music Awards. He broke Adele‘s record by winning 13 of 22 Billboard Music Awards in 2017. The 2021 Billboard Music Awards named him Artist of the Decade. Drake was in the Billboard Year-End Top Artists Top Five from 2015 to 2017. Finished first in 2018. He was an IFPI Global Recording Artist in 2016 and 2018.
Pitchfork’s “Top 10 Music Artists” list has placed him fifth since 2010, and Nothing Was the Same was the 41st best album of the decade “so far” (2010–2014). Rolling Stone ranked Take Care 95th on its 500 greatest albums list. Complex named Drake “Best Rapper Alive Every Year Since 1979” in 2011, 2012, and 2015.
Other Business Ventures
✅Endorsements
Drake got endorsement deals with many companies before starting his own business. One of the most notable was with Sprite after he talked about drinking purple drank, which is a drink that includes Sprite as a main ingredient. After his famous fight with Meek Mill, Drake was backed by fast food chains like Burger King, White Castle, and Whataburger.
Forbes said that Drake’s endorsement deals and business partnerships “combined heavily” to make his $94 million in reported pre-tax earnings from June 2016 to June 2017. During that time, he was one of the highest-paid celebrities. Drake gets an endorsement deal worth $100 million yearly from the gambling company Stake.com.
✅OVO Sound
Drake began his record label in late 2012 with producer Noah “40” Shebib and business partner Oliver El-Khatib. He did this while working on Nothing Was the Same. Drake wanted a way to release his music and help other artists grow, and Shebib and El-Khatib wanted to start a label with its sound.
This led the three of them to join forces and create OVO Sound. The name is a short form of the name Drake used to put out his earlier albums, “October’s Very Own.” Warner Bros. Records is currently in charge of distributing the label.
Drake, 40, and PartyNextDoor were the first artists to sign with the label. DVSn, Drake, PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, Roy Woods, and others are signed to the label. So are producers 40, Boi-1da, Nineteen85, and Future the Prince.
✅Toronto Raptors
Drake was named the Toronto Raptors’ new “global ambassador” on September 30, 2013, at a press conference with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke. He also joined the NBA team’s executive committee. It was announced at the same time that the 2016 NBA All-Star Game was given to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
This is also where Drake got “The Key to the City.” It was announced that Drake would help promote and host events, starting with the All-Star Game. In honor of the franchise’s 20th anniversary, he would also help redesign the team’s image and clothing line as part of a rebranding project. He also worked with the Raptors on basketball jerseys, t-shirts, and sweatsuits for pre-game practices. In 2013, he began hosting an annual show called “Drake Night” for the team.
✅Entertainment
Apple Music
After Apple Music, a music and video streaming service created by Apple Inc., emerged, the company named Drake as the face of the platform at their Worldwide Developers Conference in 2015. The artist also signed an alleged $19 million deal with the service to be its only performer. Drake’s partnership with Apple Music is a big reason why the service became so popular quickly—it had 10 million subscribers in just six months.
It also led to artists demanding exclusivity, and now many independent and signed artists, like Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, have done the same. Drake, Pharrell, and Katy Perry were among the artists who got to own an Apple Watch before it was available to the public because they signed deals with the company.
DreamCrew and Investments
Drake and Future started the production company DreamCrew with Future in 2017. The company does management and entertainment. Drake worked with the sustainability startup Aspiration as an investor and kept an eye on his carbon neutrality. He invested money in Players’ Lounge, StatusPro, Overtime, Wealthsimple, NTWRK, and Bullrider.
Drake and LeBron James planned to use Main Street Advisors, RedBird Capital, and Yankee Global Enterprises to pay $1.2 billion to buy A.C. Milan. He also put money into MoonPay, a company that helps people use cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens to make payments. Drake’s investments, which include momentum investing, angel investing, and private equity, make money by using his fame to make money.
✅Virginia Black Whiskey
Two months before he released “Views,” Drake made his first move into the food and drink business by announcing Virginia Black, a whiskey made with bourbon. The product came out in June 2016 and includes two, three, and four-year-old Bourbon whiskies. It was created in partnership with Proximo Spirits and Brent Hocking. Virginia Black was a big hit first; in its first week, it sold more than 4,000 bottles in the United States alone. It then started selling in some international markets as well.
Drake often promoted Virginia Black through his music, tours, and extras like the “Virginia Black VIP Lounge” on the Summer Sixteen Tour. Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, was in commercials that helped market the brand. Even though it was popular at first, the whiskey was criticized in 2021 when it was named the worst-value celebrity liquor for price and quality.
Drake kept dabbling in the drink business by working with Brent Hocking on Mod Sélection, a high-end champagne line in 2019. Drake also participated in a $40 million series B investment round for Daring Foods Inc. in May 2021. Daring Foods Inc. is a company that makes vegan meat alternatives. In September that year, he bought a small piece of the Californian food chain Dave’s Hot Chicken. On October 24, 2022, for his 36th birthday, he gave away free chicken to people in Toronto.
✅Fashion
In December 2013, Drake made a deal with Nike and Air Jordan to make the “Air Jordan OVOs” collection. This working together led to partnerships with Canada Goose and A Bathing Ape (BAPE), which made one-of-a-kind clothes.
Drake’s creative work continued in 2020 with the launch of Nocta, a sub-label with Nike that would focus on fashion-forward, minimal sportswear inspired by how he works on his art at night. Drake’s muses and a poem were on the line, which became popular and led to more collections, like the “Weekender Collection” and the “Winter Survival Collection,” which had puffer jackets and parkas.
In July 2022, blouson jackets and caps from a capsule collection inspired by and made in collaboration with Mike Tyson came out. As part of Spotify’s sponsorship deal, OVO also made special edition jerseys for FC Barcelona to wear in their El Clásico match against Real Madrid CF.
Tie Domi, a former ice hockey player, worked with fashion store Roots Canada to make a capsule collection that matched Domi’s jersey number. He also worked with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Drake’s influence in the fashion industry was shown again by OVO’s new ideas and partnerships.
How Much is Drake’s Net Worth Today?
He’s worth $250 million all together. Drake is one of the world’s best-paid entertainers all the time. Drake’s acting career began with roles on the popular Canadian TV show “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”
Nevertheless, his music made him famous worldwide, and since 2006, he has been writing or recording hit after hit songs. “Thank Me Later,” his first studio album, went straight to the top of the hip-hop charts in 2010 and hasn’t stopped since. He has been on many music shows and award shows, gone on many tours, and generally tried to get as many fans as possible.
Drake has made over $430 million in his career, before taxes and living expenses. This was before he became famous. Drake made $45 million from June 2017 to June 2018. He made $95 million all together in 2017. Drake made $75 million from June 2018 to June 2019. He made $50 million over the next twelve months. Please scroll down to see a full list of Drake’s yearly earnings.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Drake’s net worth shows his success as a rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and businessman. Drake is one of the most important people in the music business. His career has included albums that topped the charts, singles that broke records, and many other honors.
He has a lot of money thanks to smart investments in businesses like DreamCrew Entertainment and Virginia Black whiskey and his work with big brands like Nike and Air Jordan. Drake’s OVO brand shows he is an entrepreneur in the fashion world, with a great sense of style and collaborations that set trends.
Drake is a cultural icon and a smart businessman. His net worth shows not only how good he is at music but also how smart he is at making money in different ways and leaving an indelible mark on many industries.