The question of Drake’s net-worth is subject to speculation, even by the rapper himself. In the track Remorse, he raps, “Please don’t google my net-worth, the numbers are way off”, but I looked at two sources, and they both said he is estimated to be worth $250 million. However, another suggests that the figure is way off and argues his wealth is closer to half a billion. His career earnings are said to have surpassed $430 million, and he made $95 million in 2017 alone. However, he is famously a big spender and outrageous gambler – although even the losses he reportedly incurs may also be ‘way off.’

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Starting at the beginning of his story, Drake first shot to the attention of the Canadian TV series “Degrassi: The Next Generation”, but it was music that brought the dollars rolling in and earned him international recognition. His first studio album, “Thank Me Later”, debuted at number one in 2010 on the hip-hop charts. Since then, he has consistently delivered chart-topping hits. He has a loyal fan base (as well as many detractors) and is one of the highest-paid entertainers in the world.

A Dual Image: Music Mogul and Gambling Icon

Born in October 1986, Aubrey “Drake” Graham’s hits include “Starting From the Bottom,” he is now reaping massive rewards from his music career. He is also somewhat of a self-styled property magnate and gambling icon (even if for all the wrong reasons). While Drake is famous for making money through music, his fame in the world of gambling is more about his outrageous bets and massive losses.

The Infamous “Drake Curse”

For a long time, it seemed that every bet Drake made turned against him, and sports teams dreaded the “Drake Curse”. It seemed as though no matter who he backed to win a match, they would always end up losing regardless of whether they were a favorite or not. He reportedly lost a staggering £1million in Bitcoin last year on just two unsuccessful sports bets. In fairness, he did have some successes, but his losses are legendary.

Stake Sponsorship and High-Stakes Gambling

Recently, he has been placing eye-wateringly enormous bets at online casinos and bragging about them. Wherever he played, be that at a top-end real money site like Ruby Fortune casino, or a cryptocurrency one like Stake.com, he loves throwing his money around. However, dig a little deeper; you will see more to this story than initially meets the eye. He has a sponsorship deal with Stake, and maybe it was not his money but their money being gambled. It has undoubtedly drawn media attention and made the crypto casino a well-known name. Drake is now hosting regular online ‘shows’ for the platform and giving away mega prizes.

Conflicting Estimates and Ongoing Mystery

Everything about Drake and money is slightly unclear; other than that, he has a lot of it. In 2019, Forbes estimated he earned $75 million, while Billboard estimated it at £14 million. That is a massive difference between two usually reliable sources. Perhaps we will have to settle with the idea that he earns enormous sums, but no one will ever get to the bottom of how much. Maybe the discrepancy in the above figures is that Billboard’s is from streaming, touring, and merchandise, while Forbes includes all his income streams.

Endorsements and Business Ventures

Drake is not averse to brand endorsements and, over the years, has teamed up with Sprite, Burger King, and Apple. In 2015, he signed up to promote Apple Music for an astounding $19 million, with album sales and streaming of Views only available on Apple Music. Despite only being available on the one streaming platform, he sold over a million copies in a week. However, that was before streaming services like Spotify upended the market.

Drake’s Own Brands and Partnerships

As well as endorsing successful brands, he has launched his own business ventures, including a bourbon-based whisky called Virginia Black, candles called Better World Fragrances and Mod Champagne. He co-founded the e-gaming space 100 Thieves and has his own record label, OVO Sound. The album Certified Boy was released under his own label. He is also a global brand ambassador for the NFL team, the Toronto Raptors.

Fashion Collabs and the Kendrick Beef

In 2020, Nike signed a deal with Drake to create a collaborative label called Nocta to produce shoes and clothing. His Hot Step sneakers were released in 2022 after he had teased four pairs on Instagram for almost two years. The Nike Hot Step had an exposed Air bubble in the heel, reflective piping, and metallic Swooshes. The kicks resembled shoes you would find on a basketball court, which was unsurprising given Drake and his Ovo brand had previously worked creating sneakers with Nike’s Jordan division.

Things seemed to be going swimmingly until the ongoing beef between Kendrick and Drake resulted in no one reportedly wanting to buy the shoes. In what seemed like an impossible move, Kendrick Lamar managed to turn the public against Drake.

Revenue From Streaming and Music Sales

Shoes aside, a considerable part of Drake’s income comes from music sales and royalties – he is one of the world’s best-selling artists, having sold over 170 million digital singles – more than any other music artist in history. In 2021, he was one of Spotify’s most streamed artists, with over 8.6 billion on-demand plays, and was the first artist to ever surpass 50 billion streams on the platform. While he would have had to share the purse with record labels and distributors, it is likely Drake earned around 20% of the revenue earned on his early music. However, since he started releasing on his record label, he will have kept a considerably larger share of the revenue.

Real Estate, Private Jets, and Touring

Drake’s house in Toronto is reportedly worth $100 million, and he also has three houses in Los Angeles with an estimated value of $65 million. He owns a private jet worth $220 million. Rather than paying for it out of his earnings, it was a gift from the aircraft company in exchange for his association with their brand. He also makes money from touring and merchandise, and the cut for the artist here is much more generous than from music streams and record sales.

Club Appearances and Festival Residencies

One very lucrative part of touring is club appearances, where artists can earn around $200,000 an hour. He has an ongoing residency at Las Vegas’s XS Nightclub and organizes Toronto’s OVO Fest annually. Safe to say, he has multiple income streams, so he can afford to splash the cash if he chooses.