Todd Graves, often searched as todd graves, is the co-founder and chief executive of Raising Cane's, a fast food chain focused on chicken finger meals. Forbes estimated his net worth at $22 billion, placing him among the wealthiest Americans and ranking him on the Forbes 400 list.
Graves conceived the single‑menu chicken finger concept while in college and faced early setbacks, according to a business profile. A professor gave the idea the lowest grade and banks would not finance the concept, so he worked as a boilermaker and as a salmon fisherman to save money. He later used his savings and an SBA loan to open the first Raising Cane's near the north gates of LSU, according to company background.
The chain has grown rapidly, with one profile reporting about $5.1 billion in sales and some 900 locations across 42 states, while other coverage says the company has nearly 1,000 restaurants in the United States. The restaurants take their name from Graves's dog, Raising Cane I, and the company remains headquartered in Baton Rouge.
Background And Personal Details
Graves was born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, where he attended the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and developed the original business plan with long‑time friend Craig Silvey, using Silvey's business plan course at LSU to shape the concept.
He married Gwen Drain, a McDonald's franchisee whom he had known since high school, and the couple live in Baton Rouge with their daughters and a yellow Labrador, Raising Cane III, according to published profiles. Graves is also an avid collector who has loaned a 66‑million‑year‑old triceratops skull to the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum and has lent the hearse that carried Martin Luther King Jr. to exhibits, as reported by local coverage.
