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While much of the country was struggling in June 2020, rapper Lil Wayne (real name Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.) was doing great. He’d just sold his master recordings of his music to Universal Music Group for over $100 million, a deal that was made public six months later. That boosted Lil Wayne‘s estimated net worth to a whopping $170 million.
All of that is to say, that an investigation by Business Insider into how rappers Lil Wayne and Chris Brown received millions from a taxpayer funded pandemic-relief program have led to a LOT of angry people.
The investigation revealed that Dwayne Carter Jr. received $8.9 million through a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant which BI says was meant to be “a lifeline for the live-entertainment business” as arenas and live events where shuttered all across the country. These grands were intended to cover the costs that the arena operators/musicians/event planners were on the hook for but BI’s investigation into Lil Wayne’s spending reveals a very different story.
Here’s how Dwayne Carter spent the $8.9 million in taxpayer-funded relief, from private jet travel to cash gifts to a Hooters waitress, and high fashion clothing to paying off debts to people in his life:
Lil Wayne received an $8.9 million grant from a little-known pandemic-relief program. Here's how he spent it:
How rich musicians billed American taxpayers for luxury hotels, shopping sprees, and million-dollar bonuseshttps://t.co/ul0BCtIfS8 pic.twitter.com/FjkeEsoBDq
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 18, 2024
For those keeping track at home, that’s $1.38 million spent on private jet travel during the pandemic when most of the country was being told to stay at home. He spent over half a million dollars on clothing which included $950 Marni pants, a $1,990 Balenciaga sweater, $405 on a Raf Simons baseball hat, and more. Tax payer funds at work!
And as mentioned above, it’s not only Lil Wayne under fire from this BI investigation. They report that Chris Brown’s company took $10 million in grants, of which $5.1 million went directly to Chris Brown, and of that $80K of the tax payer-funded grants went to pay for Chris Brown’s 33rd birthday party. That party included $2,100 spent on dancers in body paint, a $3,650 LED dance floor, and $179K to put together a celebrity basketball tournament.
Others who received funding through Shuttered Venue Operators Grants include Post Malone, the Smashing Pumpkins, Steve Aoki, Korn, Vampire Weekend, Usher, Slipknot, Melissa Etheridge, Leann Rimes, and more.
Suffice it to say, this news about Lil Wayne and others is not being well received from fans (tax payers). Mr. Carter has been trending across X, Threads, and BlueSky which people expressing thoughts about how he used the money.
One of the two Business Insider reporters behind this story, Katherine Long, reached out to Lil Wayne for comment. She shared his response on BlueSky. It’s too profane to post the screenshot but she asked him “Hello Dwayne. This is Katherine Long from Business Insider. Did you see my email?”
He responded “did u see my d—? I’m sure it’s much longer and better than the email and u like em long right Ms. Long?” Real classy stuff right there from Lil Wayne when confronted with the reality of his spending and how he used taxpayer funds.