Ray Charles Robinson Sr was born on September 23, 1930, and lived until June 10, 2004. Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist.
He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as “The Genius”. Among friends and fellow musicians, he preferred being called “Brother Ray”. Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to glaucoma.
He was the son of Bailey Robinson, a laborer, and Aretha (or Reatha) Robinson, a laundress, in Greenville, Florida.
Charles was married twice. His first marriage lasted less than a year, his second 22 years. Throughout his life, Charles had many relationships with women with whom he fathered a dozen children.
His first marriage to Eileen Williams lasted from July 31, 1951, until 1952.
He met his second wife Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (called “Bea” by Charles) in Texas in 1954.
They married the following year on April 5, 1955. Their first child together, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., was born in 1955.
Charles was not in town for the birth because he was playing a show in Texas. The couple had two more sons, David and Robert.
They raised their children in View Park, California. Charles felt that his heroin addiction took a toll on Della during their marriage. they divorced after 22 years of marriage in 1977.
Charles fathered a total of 12 children with ten different women.
Who inherited Ray Charles’s money and estate?
After his death in 2004, Ray Charles left most of his money and real estate to the Ray Charles Foundation which is a charity that supports the vision and hearing impaired.
Another chunk of it went to the $500,000 trust funds he left for each of his 12 children.
Source: Ghanafuo.com
