Hetty Green, often regarded as the stingiest woman in history, amassed a wealth estimated at more than $2.3 billion. Born Henrietta Howland Robinson in 1834 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, she was the only daughter of a wealthy Quaker family.
Her father, Edward Mott
Robinson, was a successful businessman in the whaling industry, and her mother,
Abby, was from a prominent family. Raised with strict financial principles,
Hetty was taught to manage money from a young age, often reading financial
newspapers to her father.
When her father passed away,
Hetty inherited a fortune estimated at $7.5 million. At the age of twenty-one,
she moved to New York City, where she began investing her money in Wall Street.
Her shrewd and often ruthless investment strategies earned her the nickname
"The Witch of Wall Street." She was known for her extreme frugality
and lived in stark contrast to the lavish lifestyles of her peers.
In 1867, Hetty married Edward
Henry Green, a wealthy millionaire. Despite their combined fortune, Hetty
continued to live an extraordinarily frugal life. She famously subsisted on
leftover cakes and broken biscuits from grocery stores and would argue daily to
obtain a free bone for her dog. Her miserliness extended to her wardrobe and
personal hygiene; she wore the same black dress until it was completely worn out
and was said to have never used hot water. She sewed her undergarments at
sixteen and did not replace them until her death.
One of the most tragic
consequences of Hetty's stinginess was the fate of her son, Ned. When Ned broke
his leg, Hetty delayed seeking proper medical treatment because she refused to
spend money. Instead, she searched for free medical care, which ultimately led
to an infection that required the amputation of his leg. This incident
underscored the extent of her miserly ways and the impact they had on her
family's well-being.
Hetty Green passed away in 1916
at the age of 81 in New York City. Her death was caused by a stroke, reportedly
triggered by a heated argument with her maid over a request for a salary
increase. Hetty's extreme parsimony earned her a place in the Guinness Book of
World Records as the "stingiest person in the world."
Despite her miserly ways, Hetty
left behind a vast fortune. Unlike their mother, her children did not inherit
her extreme frugality. Her daughter, Sylvia, exemplified this difference in
approach by using her inheritance to fund the construction of a free hospital,
demonstrating a stark contrast to Hetty's lifelong stinginess. Hetty Green's
life remains a fascinating study of the extremes of wealth accumulation and
frugality, illustrating how her financial acumen and personal eccentricities
made her one of history's most enigmatic figures.
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