You'll get lots of opinions on him, many bittersweet.
to add to Notes comments;
He also re-purposed the songs he owned so he could make more $$.
How many people from Motown recorded 'I heard it through the Grapevine'?
They were told to.

At the height of it Mr Gordy owned most of the city block they were located on, and newly signed acts had to attend 'school' in other buildings to learn how to act like a star.
I don't remember how they paid for this.

As Notes mentioned, they owned the access to the radio programmers, which itself turned into a game.
Radio management would make rules like no more than three songs from a given label per hour .. so Barry just made new labels. Same studio, same musicians, same printing press, new label.
He did create a pretty amazing business from the few hundred he initially borrowed to get started.

He then left Detroit and headed to LA to make movies like the Wiz.

The old studios are still here in Detroit and being maintained by a foundation (not Mr Gordy).
The foundation has received generous donations from the likes of Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, and now survives on tourist money.
Stop in and see some history while it is still available.

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I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!