Breaking Down the Net Worth of Raising Cane's Todd Graves

Todd Graves has become the richest person in Louisiana and is one of the 500 wealthiest people in the world, according to an analysis by Bloomberg.

Graves, founder of the Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers empire, has a nearly 90% stake in the private business, according to Bloomberg. That, along with dividends he has received, are worth $7.6 billion, making him Louisiana’s wealthiest resident and the 307th wealthiest person worldwide.

The chicken finger restaurant reported $3.3 billion in sales for its fiscal year ending in June and adjusted earnings of $647 million, according to Bloomberg. Its total revenue grew from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $3.1 billion in 2022, and the firm paid dividends totaling $183 million in that same time frame.

Earlier this month, Raising Cane's sold $500 million worth of bonds. The initial offering was backed by investors; Bloomberg noted $1 in Cane's bonds was selling for $1.01.

Founded in Baton Rouge in 1996 at a spot near LSU, Raising Cane’s now has more than 750 locations worldwide. Earlier this year, it opened a Times Square location and Post Malone-inspired restaurants in Utah and Dallas, which also leans heavily on the musical artist’s beloved Dallas Cowboys.

Topping the Bloomberg list is Elon Musk, who runs Tesla and owns X, formerly known as Twitter, among other ventures. His net worth is $225 billion.

Graves, though, now outranks a number of notable business people on the list, including:

• Dan Cathy ($7.38B), chairman of Chick-fil-A, and his brother Bubba Cathy ($7.38B), also a Chick-fil-A executive

• Ann Kroenke ($7.38B), Walmart heiress

• Giorgio Armani ($6.64B), Italian fashion designer

• Mark Cuban ($6.37B), Dallas Mavericks owner and “Shark Tank” star

• Mat Ishbia ($5.68B), Phoenix Suns owner and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage

• Reed Hastings ($5.49B), Netflix co-founder and chairman

• Howard Schultz ($5.2B), former Starbucks CEO

What about Gayle Benson?

Notably, the Bloomberg list — which cuts off at 500 — doesn't include Gayle Benson, the person widely considered in other rankings as Louisiana's richest person.

However, in the latest list complied by Forbes, Benson, who controls the New Orleans Saints, the Pelicans and a business empire that includes several other enterprises, has a net worth of $4.7 billion, which ranks 580th on the Forbes list. The lowest net worth on the Bloomberg list is $5.2 billion. Graves is not on the Forbes list.

Raising Cane's officials said Graves was unavailable for comment Thursday.