Drake Is Reportedly Worth $440 Million Annually to Toronto's $8.8 Billion Economy
How much is Drake's co-sign worth to the city of Toronto?
According to Gordon Hendren, who does marketing and branding consultations for major brands in Toronto, enough to film approximately 440 "God's Plan" videos.
"We did some calculations that suggest he's worth about $440 million to the Toronto economy," Hendren told VICE News. "There are a number of factors that go into that calculation but we gave Drake five percent of [Toronto's] $8.8 billion [economy]."
Hendren explained that Drake has not only helped to rebrand the city, but his success is now synonymous with Toronto.
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In addition to boosting the local economy, Drake's brand value is also helping his hometown secure opportunities outside of entertainment.
Toronto City Councillor Michael Thompson, who is responsible for attracting foreign investments, explained to VICE News how Drake means big business:
"I was just in New Orleans over the weekend and the reason why I was there, we were there to secure a technology conference to come to Toronto for the next three years. And I talked a little about Toronto, who we are, the number of people living here and so on. And when I mentioned this was the home of Drake, people just kind of went crazy."
In total, Councillor Thompson said the tech conference will bring in an estimated $147 million in total revenue for the city of Toronto.
Drake might be an easy target on Twitter, but there's no artist who operates in or around the hip-hop landscape who means as much to his or her city, financially, as Drake does to Toronto.
