Otis Redding - Personal Life and Wealth

Personal Life and Wealth

Redding, who was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg), was an athletic family man who loved football and hunting. He was described as vigorous, trustworthy, naturally full of fun and vitality, and a true businessman. Biographer Peter Guralnick has said Redding would even have been respected by the Ku-Klux-Klan. According to several people, Redding's personality was not fully matured neither on stage nor in public life. His brother Rodgers thought he was "confused", while Alan Walden described him as "naive". He was not only a musician, company founder, talent scout and record producer, but was also active in philanthropic projects. Through his keen interest for the black youth he intended to build a summer camp for disadvantaged people from urban slums and ghettos.

Redding was a very wealthy entertainer. According to several advertisements, he had around 200 suits and 400 pairs of shoes, and he earned about $35,000 per week for his concerts. For the "Big O Ranch" he spent about $125,000. As the owner of the Otis Redding Enterprises of Macon, he earned through performances, music publishing ventures and royalties from record sales more than a million dollars in 1967 alone. About his success in 1967, one columnist said, "he sold more records than Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin combined."