How Drake Achieved a Net Worth of $250 Million
Drake’s lengthy career has included appearances on television as a young actor before he transitioned into an acclaimed career as a rapper. His rap career started in 2006 and included multiple mix tapes and singles before his debut studio album in 2010 entered the rap charts at 2010. Since then, Drake continues to tour, record albums, perform on television, and earning many hits.
All of this work has earned Drake a lot of money. What exactly is Drake net worth valuations and are they as high as many people believe? There has been a lot of discussion about this rapper, especially as he continually attends various sporting events and shows interest in team ownership. Does he have enough money to buy a team?
Let’s take a look at Drake net worth estimates to find out.
Drake Net Worth
Audrey Drake Graham aka Drake is a Canadian actor, producer, and rapper who has a lengthy career in all of these fields. While his acting career mostly centered on one show, it was where he initially earned his fame as a young teen. It was also an important income source for his family at the time, as he lived with a single mother and his family struggled on the poverty line for many years before his success.
Since starting his acting career, Drake has worked himself up to a net worth of about $250 million and no longer has to worry about how he’ll feed his family. It is estimated that Drake has earned about $430 million in his career, with his net worth value being a representation of his after-tax income and the money he’s kept after paying for things like homes for himself and his family.
His earnings have continually increased every year since he started his rap career. Though his earning peak was in 2017, he continually makes anywhere from $50-80 million every year. His profits decrease due to things like paying for expensive homes and tours but keeps him making great money. Currently, he is one of the richest and most successful rappers and hip hop performers on the planet.
How Drake Earned His Fortune
Drake was just a normal 15-year-old when a friend’s father helped him get a role on the Canadian teen show, “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” He appeared on the show as a basketball star who gets shot by a classmate and is unable to compete any more. Drake was on the show for the seven first seasons and appeared sporadically in 2008 in guest appearances while he worked on his rapping career.
During this time, Drake’s mother became sick and couldn’t work. The timing of his appearance on the show literally saved his family from losing everything. Unfortunately, he was only earning about $50,000 per year on the show as a young actor. While that’s not bad money for a young man, he had to not only pay his family’s expenses but help cover his mother’s medical bills and expenses.
Though this was a challenging period during which drake said that they were “very poor, like broke,” it taught Drake the importance of supporting his family. It also taught him that hard work was important and that he needed to do what he could to help those who he loved. It became a lesson that fueled his successful rap career and made it easier for him to put in the hours needed to succeed.
Starting His Rap Career
Starting in 2005, Drake started releasing mixtapes on his website and MySpace page. At the time, MySpace was the most popular social media site and he was able to gain a small, but significant, following. His first mix tape sold 6,000 copies that he sold directly to fans. At the time, Drake was still on Degrassi and just beginning his ascent to hip hop royalty.
The next year, he released his second mixtape on his record label, October’s Very Own. The mixtape became an underground hit and featured a single “Replacement Girl” that became the first video by an unsigned rapper to appear on BET. This early success was mostly self-fueled, as Drake not only produced the music for his songs but wrote the lyrics, performed, mixed, and marketed his work.
Finding Bigger Success
Eventually, Drake gained the interest of Lil Wayne after Jas Prince heard some of his singles. Drake was invited to join Lil Wayne’s tour, Tha Carter III. The two wrote and recorded several songs together, such as “Ransom,” “Forever,” and “Brand New.” Though the two had some success with these songs, Drake remained an independent artist and released another mixtape in 2009.
After releasing this mixtape as a free download, it took off and even peaked at number two on the Billboard Top 100. This created a heavy bidding war that resulted in Drake signing with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment label. From there, Drake has bounced from one success to another and has continued his string of hits that have earned him a steady income.
For instance, each of his studio albums have gone at least four-times platinum, which is a huge success in today’s modern streaming-oriented world. He has also won four Grammys and been nominated for a total of about 40, earning over 180 other major awards. Drake also earns $1 million per concert.
Drake’s Earnings By Year
Drake’s independent rap career was big enough for him to earn about $10 million in 2010, though his signing with a major label helped. Over the next few years, he earned anywhere from $11 million to $95 million per year, with his biggest years starting in 2015. Since then, he’s never made less than $40 million in a year, with his biggest years being 2017 ($95 million) and 2019 ($75 million).
How Much Real Estate Does Drake Own
Drake is an extensive real estate owner and has at least a $60-80 million worth tied up in various investments. His largest is his home in Hidden Hills, California. He purchased it in 2012 for $7.7 million in cash. That means he doesn’t have a mortgage on the home and bought it full-priced, which is a great investment because it limits how much he has to pay in the future.
It has a 12,000 square-foot main house with a 2,000 square-foot second home used mostly for parties. It features extensive horse stables, a 25-person movie theater, an incredibly large pool, a sand volleyball court, and a full-sized basketball court. Drake, a big basketball fan, regularly plays games here with friends and others, often betting on the results for fun and profit.
Furthermore, the home also has an extensive pool that wraps around the home and multiple waterfalls and an 80-foot slide. There’s even an outdoor grotto where he holds parties and events with friends and family members. Amusingly, Drake bought the home after finding it in a Google result when searching for the “craziest residential swimming pools” online.
Drake lucked out with this home because it was initially listed for about $27 million in 2009 and is likely worth much more now. The owner at the time needed to sell the home quickly and Drake offered them $7.7 million in cash in an offer that the former owner simply couldn’t refuse.
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