'An abuse of federal resources'
How Rich Musicians Billed American Taxpayers For Luxury Hotels, Shopping Sprees, And Million-Dollar Bonuses
Pop stars took advantage of the SVOG grant, using COVID relief funds for luxury spending. Lil Wayne bought Balenciaga and flew private.
·
The Lede
Many musicians struggled during the pandemic. Lil Wayne wasn't one of them. He sold master recordings from his record label's artists for more than $100 million. He was pardoned for felony gun possession by then-President Donald Trump. And, as a Business Insider investigation found, he received an $8.9 million grant from a little-known pandemic-relief program that he used to cover more than two years' worth of spending on luxury hotel stays and travel to and from nightclub appearances around the country.
Key Details
- The money came from a program called the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Signed into law by Trump in 2020 and championed by lawmakers, it was established as a lifeline for struggling independent venues and arts groups during the pandemic.
- But pop stars used the program as a piggy bank to keep the party going, reporting by BI shows.
- Thousands of pages of accounting documents reviewed by BI reveal, for the first time, how some wealthy musicians spent grants they received through the program.
