Who Is Lucian Grainge? Meet the Universal Music Chief connected to Drake and named the most powerful man in music
KNOWN as the most powerful person in the music industry, Lucian Grainge is one of the biggest names when it comes to the business.
Here is everything you need to know about the music mogul and what is his connection to Drake and the hip-hop circuit.
Who is Lucian Grainge?
Born on February 29, 1960, Sir Lucian Charles Grainge CBE is a British record executive and the current CEO of Universal Music Group – the biggest label in the business.
Having been in the music industry for more than 45 years, Billboard magazine named him the most powerful person in the music business four times.
He was also named as the publication’s first-ever Executive of the Decade in 2020.
A native of north London, he became a knight after Queen Elizabeth II bestowed upon him the honour in 2016 – on her 90th birthday.
Having worked his entire career in the music industry, Grainge has signed and worked with some of the biggest names including Jay Z, Elton John, Queen, Rihanna and Amy Winehouse.
The music mogul has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020.
What is Lucian Grainge’s net worth?
Grainge’s reported net worth is said to be north of $250million.
The mogul draws an annual base salary of $5 million – and typically earns $10 million in bonuses.
In April 2023, Lucian was rewarded with an equity pay package that could ultimately be worth $100 million, Celebrity Net Worth reports.
What is Lucian Grainge’s connection to Drake?
In 2022, the Universal Musical Group under Grainge’s leadership signed an unprecedented $400million multi-faceted deal with hip-hop star Drake.
It included the rapper’s song recordings, publishing, merchandise, and visual media projects.
The lucrative deal was described as “LeBron-sized” by an insider, according to Variety.
What did Kanye West say about Drake and Lucian Grainge?
Kanye West said that Lucian is Drake’s “rich baby daddy.”
In an interview with Justin Laboy on The Download podcast he premiered a remix of Metro Boomin and Future’s Like That.
One of Drake’s singles from his album, For All the Dogs, is called Rich Baby Daddy.
“Drake has a rich baby daddy, named Lucian [Grainge] and Universal,” West said.
“He’s like, ‘My daddy got it. My daddy control the spins. My daddy got the DSPs. Drake has a rich baby daddy named Lucian.”