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Todd Graves | |
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![]() Graves and his dog, Raising Cane II | |
Born | Todd Bartlett Graves 1972 (age 52–53) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
Education | University of Georgia (BA) |
Occupation(s) | Businessman, restaurateur |
Office | Owner and Founder of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers [1] |
Spouse | Gwen Drain Graves |
Children | 2 |
Todd Bartlett Graves (born 1972) is an American entrepreneur, restaurateur and billionaire who is the Owner and Founder of Raising Cane's, a quick service restaurant specializing in Chicken Finger meals with 925+ restaurants across 40+ states and international markets [2] .
As of April 2025, Forbes estimated his net worth is at $17.2 billion, making him the 116th wealthiest person in the world. He ranked #107 on the 2024 Forbes 400 List of richest Americans. [3]
Graves was raised in Baton Rouge, where he attended Episcopal High School and played a variety of sports including track and field and was the quarterback of the football team. He also took Honors classes and was active in drama and theater. [4]
An entrepreneur from the start, Graves was always looking for ways to make money and dabbled in various ventures throughout his childhood ranging from lemonade stands to curb stenciling to lawn mowing. Graves drew inspiration from jobs other kids were doing and believed he could find a way to do it more efficiently. [5]
Following high school graduation, Graves attended the University of Georgia. [3] and studied telecommunications with a minor in business to pursue his dream of writing for television and film. However, throughout college, Graves worked in various restaurants and bars, which further cemented his love for food and the restaurant industry and led him to pursue a different dream – to open one restaurant that sold chicken fingers in his hometown of Baton Rouge, right by Louisiana State University’s campus.
Following his graduation from Georgia in 1995, Graves returned home to turn his dream into a reality. Boneless chicken was becoming increasingly popular [6] and Graves wanted to focus on doing one thing and doing it better than anyone else.
In search of a partner to help open this restaurant, Graves reached out to childhood friend Craig Silvey. In the months that followed, Graves did all he could to learn about running a business. He read business books, attended Southern University’s Small Business Development Center and SCORE seminars, and spoke with a variety of businesspeople. All that was left was to put pen to paper.
Silvey, who was attending LSU at the time, was enrolled in a business management class and was tasked with the assignment to submit a business plan. Graves helped Silvey develop a business plan for their vision – “Folly’s Fingers of LSU” – which received the lowest grade in the class. The professor noted that a restaurant serving only chicken fingers in southern Louisiana, which was known for its Cajun food, would never work and pointed out that the industry was trending toward variety and salad and grilled options. The “veto vote” would inherently rule out any restaurant focused solely on chicken fingers. [7]
Undeterred, Graves and Silvey set out to make their dream a reality and began visiting every bank in town to secure a loan. The duo was again met with skepticism over their concept and even their lack of experience. Potential investors stated they needed to get “real” jobs and that their idea would never work. Following rejection after rejection, Graves and Silvey were more motivated than ever to prove that a concept selling only chicken fingers would work and Graves decided to raise the money himself. [8]
Graves then set out for Los Angeles to work 90-hour weeks as a boilermaker at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo. Fellow boilermakers gave him the nickname “Hollywood” and were the first to believe in him and his plan. It was during his time at the refinery that he met Wild Bill Tolar, who tipped him off to the idea of commercial fishing in Alaska. Tolar said it was incredibly dangerous work and long hours but paid well. From there, Graves flew to Alaska and proceeded to hitchhike to Naknek and camp on the frozen Tundra surviving on Pork-N-Beans. After a month, Graves successfully convinced the captain to give him a job as a commercial sockeye salmon fisherman. Tolar was right – the work was hard and dangerous, with peak season consisting of 20-hour days. During his time with the boat crew, Graves would cook for them and tell them about his plans of opening a restaurant. Following his ventures in LA and Alaska, Graves took short jobs in Denver and Hawaii at a refinery before returning home to Baton Rouge with $50,000 and a dream that was more alive than ever. [9]
Graves knew he couldn’t open a restaurant with $50,000 so he still needed to find investors, but this time they listened. He raised $90,000 of subordinated debt, which included small investments from some friends he met during his time as a boilermaker. He also secured an SBA loan from Source Capital for an additional $50,000. [10]
In 2024, Graves joined ABC's Shark Tank for season 16 as a "Guest Shark," appearing in certain episodes alongside other judges including Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, and Daniel Lubetzky.
Of his appearance on the show, Graves said, "As a long-time viewer and fan of the show, I'm excited to bring my restaurant and business experience to entrepreneurs and help guide them as they build their brands. At my core, I love business and helping people succeed; and at the end of the day, it’ [11]
In 2000, Graves married Gwen Drain, a McDonald's franchisee, whom he had known since high school. [12] [13] They have two children and reside in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with their yellow Labrador, Raising Cane III. [14] . Graves also owns Will Ferrel's original Elf suit from Elf (on display during the holidays at Raising Cane's Global Flagship in Times Square). [15]
An avid collector, Graves has loaned a 66-million-year-old triceratops skull to the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum. [16] He has also loaned the hearse that carried Martin Luther King Jr. to exhibits across the country. [17]
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