What is Michael Rapino's Net Worth and Salary?
Michael Rapino is a Canadian-American business executive who has a net worth of $150 million. Michael Rapino serves as the president and CEO of the multinational entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment, which was created in 2010 from the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment. Under his leadership, the company acquired House of Blues Entertainment and the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, among a myriad of other music companies and festivals around the world. In 2017, Michael Rapino earned over $70 million in total compensation. Rapino and Live Nation have garnered widespread criticism for alleged price fixing, hidden fees, safety violations, and various anti-competitive practices.
He has been married to actress Jolene Blalock since 2003. They met after Michael hired her to appear in a beer commercial. Jolene actually proposed to Michael and today they have three children together.
Michael Rapino Live Nation Salary
Michael has served as CEO of Live Nation since 2005. In 2017 he received $70 million in total compensation, the majority of which was in the form of a bonus. Also in 2017, Michael signed a 5-year contract that guarantees him a base salary of $9 million per year.
Early Life and Education
Michael Rapino was born in 1967 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada into an Italian Catholic family. For his higher education, he attended Lakehead University, from which he earned a bachelor of business administration degree in 1989.
Career Beginnings
While a student at Lakehead, Rapino worked as a sales representative for Labatt Breweries and began promoting bands at local bars. He put together weekly ads in the student-funded newspaper The Argus that highlighted live music events in Thunder Bay. After graduating from Lakehead, Rapino moved to Toronto and continued working as a sales representative for Labatt Breweries. He remained with the company for a total of ten years doing various marketing and entertainment roles.
In the late 1990s, Rapino co-founded the Canadian concert promotion company Core Audience Entertainment. The company was acquired by SFX Entertainment in 1999, and the year after that, SFX was acquired by Clear Channel Communications. Rapino held a number of different roles at Clear Channel Entertainment, the company's entertainment division.
Live Nation
In 2005, Clear Channel Communications spun off its entertainment division and named it Live Nation; Rapino was appointed as the company's CEO. After Live Nation merged with the ticket sales and distribution company Ticketmaster Entertainment in 2010, Rapino was named the CEO of the new company, Live Nation Entertainment. Under Rapino's leadership, Live Nation has acquired a number of companies and festivals in the music industry, including House of Blues Entertainment, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Blue Note Entertainment, and BottleRock Napa Valley. It has also made several international acquisitions, including the Sweden Rock Festival, Australia's Secret Sounds Group, Israel's Bluestone Entertainment, and Finland's Blockfest. Meanwhile, the company has struck major touring and merchandising deals with such artists as Madonna, U2, Jay-Z, Shakira, and Lady Gaga. In late 2015, Live Nation launched a film and television division called Live Nation Productions; the division produced Bradley Cooper's 2018 film "A Star is Born," starring Gaga.
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Controversies
Live Nation has drawn considerable controversy and criticism for its role in the consolidation and monopolization of the live events industry. It has been decried for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive practices, for mishandling the ticket sale process for popular events, and for the numerous injuries and deaths that have occurred at its events. A number of lawsuits have been filed against Live Nation alleging price fixing and hidden fees. In the spring of 2022, congressman Bill Pascrell stated that he had issued letters to the FTC and US Department of Justice urging for Live Nation to be dissolved. These calls were repeated later in the year during major ticket sale blunders for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
In addition to the myriad criticisms of Live Nation, Rapino has faced backlash for the discrepancy between his earnings and that of his employees. In 2017, he earned $70.6 million while his employees made an average of $24,000, reportedly one of the biggest gaps in salary between a CEO and his workers. Rapino elicited further criticism when he attempted to defend Live Nation's high ticket prices and lack of regulation by saying that ticket prices should be akin to "buying a Gucci bag," and that the average consumer could only be able to do so "once or twice a year."
Personal Life
In 2003, Rapino married actress and model Jolene Blalock, known for her role as Vulcan officer T'Pol on the science-fiction television series "Star Trek: Enterprise." The couple first met on a commercial shoot Rapino was doing. Together, they have three sons named Ryder, River, and Rexton. Rapino and Blalock founded the Rapino Foundation, which provides assistance to people in the developing world.
Real Estate
In 2003, right around the time they married, Michael spent $2.8 million on a home in Los Angeles. Ten years later they sold the home for a shade over what they spend back in 2003.
At the same time in 2013 they spent $14.75 million on a large two-parcel property in LA's Brentwood neighborhood. The resulting two-acre compound featured an 11,000 square foot main house and a 2,400 square foot second house. The seller of both lots was a financier named John Rocchio who is the co-founder of a private equity firm called Newstone Capital Partners. Rocchio spent around $11 million to acquire the two parcels in 2006.
In March 2018, Jolene and Michael spent $11 million to acquire a fantastic home in Malibu, California through a trust. The 3,300 square foot beachfront property had been listed for $12 million. In total, the Rapino-Blalocks own at least $30 million worth of real estate alone.
