Best recognized as the founder of the Motown record label, Berry Gordy is an American songwriter and record producer with a staggering estimated net worth of $345 million as of  2012.

Born with 8 prominent black siblings in Detroit Michigan, Berry Gordy decided to drop out of high school to pursue a boxing career in the hope of becoming rich instantly. However, he was drafted for the Korean war by the US Army in 1950.

Three years later, he returned from the war and decided to marry Thelma Coleman. He then established the 3-D Record Mart, which featured jazz music, and he started writing songs. Four years later, he wrote the song Reet Petite for the singer Jackie Wilson. The song became a hit not just in the US but also in the UK and other neighboring countries. Gordy also wrote other hit songs for Petite like All I Could Do Was Cry and Lonely Teardrops. 

On April 14, 1949, MoTown Records was finally established. The company made local and international success. Subsequently, MoTown Records signed artists and performers like Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Four Tops, The Commodores, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptation, Stevie Wonder, The Contours, Jimmy Ruffin, The Velvelettes and The Jackson Five.

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