Hetty Green

Henrietta Howland Robinson Green, née Robinson and called Hetty, ( born November 21, 1834 in New Bedford / Massachusetts, † July 3, 1916 in New York City ) was an American businesswoman during the great heyday of the U.S. economy before the First World War. It is regarded as the first major business woman on Wall Street and was often referred to as " Witch of Wall Street" because she was particularly known for two things: your ability to earn money and the inability to spend it again.

Life

She spent her childhood with her ​​father, a Quaker and watched him at work, because her mother was constantly ill. Your family belonged to a larger whaling fleet and so she learned early on how to deal with shares and securities. With 6 years she was already reading business newspapers and opened her own bank account. At the age of 13 her the execution of bookkeeping for the family business was transferred, and when her father died in 1846, he left her a fortune of 7.5 million U.S. dollars. She went to New York City and invested in Wall Street. As a result, she became one of the richest and at the same time the most hated women in the world.

1868 she married the multimillionaire Edward Green. With him she had two children, Ned and Sylvia Green.

Greed

Hetty Green was famous for their thrift. Despite their wealth they always ate in the cheapest restaurants and always wore the same clothes. Particularly negative headlines she made when her son Ned injured his knee badly and she wanted to consult a doctor from avarice. Ned's leg had to be amputated.

She died in 1916, leaving behind their children 100 million U.S. dollars, taking inflation into account, this corresponds to a present-day value of 2.276 billion U.S. dollars. Their children were the money various charities get.