Robert Ellis Silberstein (also known as Bob Ellis; born January 5, 1946) is an American music executive and businessman. During his career, he managed many musicians, including Billy Preston, Diana Ross,

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

, the Rolling Stones'

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

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and Status Quo.

Personal life

Silberstein was born into a wealthy family of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

garment manufacturers in

Elberon, New Jersey Elberon is an unincorporated community that is part of Long Branch in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 07740. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for ZIP ...

. He graduated from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

and tried teaching. Silberstein was married to Diana Ross from 1971 to 1977. They have two daughters together and Diana Ross has one daughter from a previous relationship:

Rhonda Ross Kendrick Rhonda Ross Kendrick (born Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein; August 14, 1971) is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer and actress Diana Ross. She was born in Los Angeles and raised by Ross and her first husband, Robert Ellis S ...

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and '' Black-ish'' (2014–2022). She is ...

, and Chudney Ross. Rhonda, whose biological father is Motown founder

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

, was born a few months after the marriage began, and Silberstein knowingly adopted her as his own. Silberstein’s family came from a Jewish background. Upon graduating from West Virginia University, he took up teaching at the same school but had to quit the job because of some issues with the principal there. He then entered the music industry.

Professional career

In the 1970s, he managed Diana Ross; the Rolling Stones'

; Billy Preston; and Chaka Khan, whom he discovered while managing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis Silberstein, Robert 1943 births Living people 20th-century American Jews American music industry executives Businesspeople from New York City Silberstein family 21st-century American Jews