Inside the wild $100M World Cup blowout of Hollywood’s most extravagant billionaire — and why celebs are desperate to get on his ‘list’

Inside the wild $100M World Cup blowout of Hollywood’s most extravagant billionaire — and why celebs are desperate to get on his ‘list’

Forget the Vanity Fair Oscars party! Chicken finger billionaire Todd Graves threw Hollywood’s hands-down starriest event when he recently dropped up to a staggering $100 million, we hear, to host his famous friends for over-the-top festivities during the World Cup in NYC and LA.

The self-made fast food entrepreneur behind Raising Cane’s came to town earlier this year, moved in next door to Leonardo DiCaprio in the Hollywood Hills and has quickly cooked up a unique recipe as Hollywood’s top host of A-list events.

And while Spain may have won the championship, Graves went for the gold on the party circuit.

Casey Affleck and Todd Graves seen in the Celebrity Suite for USA vs. Paraguay in June. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s
Teyana Taylor in the Celebrity Suite for USA vs. Paraguay hosted by Raising Cane’s Owner and Founder Todd Graves at SoFi Stadium. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s

Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that homespun Graves — who is worth $22 billion and was DiCaprio’s date to the Oscars this year —  spared absolutely no expense flying in an A-list crowd to party with him in New York over a two-day period, dropping what one guest even estimated was close to $100 million to pay for hotels, extravagant meals, transportation and renting out some of the city’s marquee nightclubs.

Guests were flown in — some on private jets — and we hear that Graves allegedly put everyone up at Andre Balasz‘s Mercer Hotel, which he bought out for the weekend. 

The festivities started on Saturday when Graves hosted a party the night before the final between Spain and Argentina at nightlife guru Scott Sartiano‘s Zero Bond.

Snoop Dogg performed at Graves’ Raising Cane’s-hosted party in California in June. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s
Graves, seen here with Gabrielle Union, and Dwyane Wade, flew in his A-list guests. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s

For the game, Graves booked not one, but four separate suites, at MetLife stadium, and guests traveling from Manhattan to East Rutherford, New Jersey, received their own police escort.

Guests of Graves at the game included DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Danny McBride, Joe Burrow, Kevin Durant, Casey Affleck, Mick Jagger, Anna Kendrick, Austin Butler, Benecio del Toro, Chris Pine, Christina Aguilera, Florence Pugh, Odessa A’zion, Paul Wesley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tate McRae, Vin Diesel and Woody Harrelson, among others.

Following the match, Graves hosted a private dinner at upscale members club Chez Margaux — which he also bought out. That bash was then followed by an after-party at Tao Group’s swanky downtown Crane Club on Sunday night.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” star DiCaprio flew in a band, and his friend Nat Myers, to perform at the dinner in front of an intimate group including Jagger, Scorsese and De Niro.

Graves has become good friends with Leo DiCaprio, who is also his neighbor. FilmMagic

Said a source: “It was a special moment during the weekend’s festivities.”

Ahead of the World Cup matches in LA, Graves hosted a pre-party at Lumiere at the Fairmont in Los Angeles for guests including Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Joey King, Gabrielle Union, Dwayne Wade, Dave Franco, Allison Brie, Barbara Palvin and more.

Graves hosted a private dinner at upscale members club Chez Margaux. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s

Following one match, Raising Cane’s hosted an after-party at Snoop Dogg’s Compound in Inglewood, complete with a performance from Snoop himself — plus food trucks from Raising Cane’s, natch.

He also hosted a weekend of Super Bowl bashes in San Francisco earlier this year, including buying out and redesigning the entire Proper Hotel — with 131 rooms and suites for friends with late-night rooftop parties and exclusive merch only for his pals. His Super Bowl guests included Alix Earle, Jessica Alba, Emma Roberts, Machine Gun Kelly, Cardi B and Logan Paul, while Jamie Foxx, Orlando Bloom and Kevin Costner were also among the A-listers in his five custom Raising Cane’s Super Bowl suites.

“It was absolutely mental,” said a NYC guest who marveled at some of the most powerful and famous people in the world being shepherded around the city by a self-made billionaire who once worked as a boilermaker at oil refineries in Southern California.

Graves pals around with Hollywood’s rich and famous, including Jamie Foxx. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s

Ever since Page Six Hollywood launched, we’ve made no secret of our interest in monitoring Graves’ every move as the town’s latest mogul. Hollywood loves a free-spending patron and the affable Graves hasn’t hid his love of palling around celebs.

Graves dropped $23 million to buy the mansion next door to DiCaprio’s that was previously owned by nightlife king Sam Nazarian.

And while Graves hasn’t backed any films, he does reportedly write many of the campaign slogans for Raising Cane’s, and as a kid was, “daydreaming of moving to Hollywood and pushing a broom to get his foot in the door at a movie studio,” according to Forbes.

50 Cent has performed at Raising Cane’s events, too. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s
Fanatics billionaire Michael Rubin, known for his own lavish parties, is a fan. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s

Evidently, his World Cup parties were far from a one-off.

The 54-year-old Louisiana native throws lavish events throughout the year — including what one person said was the by far the best party at Coachella, where guests were flown via helicopter.

He has a dedicated team to help him with all the logistics that come with putting together some of the most star-studded parties, and getting on his “list” has become an aspiration of some of the town’s biggest celebrities.

Luciana Barroso and Matt Damon Todd Graves’ party at Sartiano’s last month in New York City. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s
50 Cent performs at Graves’ party at Zero Bond in New York City. Getty Images for Raising Cane’s

Graves’ story would certainly make an Oscar-worthy film, we’ve reported.

The Louisiana entrepreneur recalled when he opened his 1,000th restaurant along the Hollywood Walk of Fame how he’d lived in LA cleaning equipment at oil refineries for 90 to over 100 hours per week. “I worked for a refinery in El Segundo, and I also worked for a refinery in Torrance,” he said, adding he resided at a motel “where you could rent by the month or rent by the hour.”

Now America’s richest restaurateur, Graves even got the nickname “Hollywood” at the refinery when he took a day off after seven weeks to see the sites along the Walk of Fame.

Graves was DiCaprio’s plus-one at this year’s Oscars. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

While he has yet to pen a book, he has played himself on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and invested in two successful businesses via the show.

Graves’ aw-shucks persona doesn’t even seem to be a put on. He previously told us of why he admires Hollywood folks after attending the Oscars: “You see actors and actresses get up there, and they’re just so gracious… that appreciation and all of that, it just blew me away.”

Past tycoons who have taken Hollywood by storm include, most famously, Howard Hughes, as well as mogul-turned-producer Sidney Kimmel, who bought the old Johnny Carson estate in Malibu for $46M in 2007, and supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, who owned Michael Jackson’s infamous Neverland.

Raising Cane’s did not comment.

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