Hetty Green
Hetty Green | |
---|---|
Born | Henrietta Howland Robinson November 21, 1834 |
Died | July 3, 1916 New York City, U.S. | (aged 81)
Resting place | Immanuel Cemetery, Bellows Falls, Vermont, U.S. |
Education | Eliza Wing School |
Occupation | Financier |
Known for | Financial prowess, miserly conduct |
Spouse |
Edward Henry Green
(m. 1867; died 1902) |
Children |
|
Hetty Green (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916),[1] was an American businesswoman and financier known as "the richest woman in America" during the Gilded Age. Those who knew her well referred to her admiringly as the Queen of Wall Street due to her willingness to lend freely and at reasonable interest rates to financiers and city governments during financial panics.[2] Her extraordinary discipline during such times enabled her to amass a fortune as a financier at a time when nearly all major financiers were men.[3] Two days after her death on July 3, 1916, The New York Times paid tribute to Green:
It was that Mrs. Green was a woman that made her career the subject of endless curiosity, comment, and astonishment...Her habits were the legacy of New England ancestors who had the best of reasons for knowing "the value of money," for never wasting it, and for risking it only when their shrewd minds saw an approach to certainty of profit. Though something of hardness was ascribed to her, that she harmed any is not recorded, and victims of ruthlessness are usually audible...That there are few like her is not a cause of regret; that there are many less commendable, is one.[4]
As a highly successful investor, with a
Birth and early years
Early childhood
Henrietta ("Hetty") Howland Robinson was born in 1834 in
At the age of two, Hetty was sent to live with her grandfather, Gideon Howland, and her Aunt Sylvia. Hetty would read the stock quotations and commerce reports for her grandfather and picked up some of his business methods. At the age of 10, Hetty entered Eliza Wing's boarding school in
Early adulthood
In her late teens, Hetty attended multiple boarding schools and finishing schools, such as the Friends Academy and Anna Cabot Lowell's finishing school. Simultaneously, she assisted her father with the management of the family business. The unifying theme throughout this period of her life was her unapologetic rejection of societal norms established for women at the time — especially wealthy heiresses. Hetty cared little for her personal appearance, preferring to dress in old clothes, and she disregarded the daily primping practiced by young women. Hetty’s behavior frustrated her mother and Aunt Sylvia because they feared what the future would hold for a wealthy heiress who felt more at home on the docks of New Bedford than mingling with members of her class.[9]
When Hetty turned 20 years old, her Aunt Sylvia pressured her to find a spouse. Reluctantly, Hetty moved to New York to live with a cousin of her mother's, Henry Grinnell. During her time in New York, she mingled with the upper crust of New York Society and attended many lavish balls. But she expressed little interest in finding a husband. Instead, she spent much of her time eavesdropping on men as they discussed the latest Wall Street dramas. Her relatives were exasperated when Hetty returned several months early to New Bedford with no wedding prospects. Her father was the only person unable to contain his delight when he learned that Hetty had spent only $200 out of her $1,200 budget, investing the remainder in high-quality bonds.[8][9]
Adulthood and marriage
Within a few years of her return to New Bedford, Hetty’s father exited the whaling business and relocated to New York City. His exit was well-timed, as the use of petroleum virtually eliminated demand for whale oil within a few years.[citation needed] Hetty spent the next six years shuttling between New York City and New Bedford. Her priority in New York was assisting her father with new business and investment activities, while her priority in New Bedford was pestering her Aunt Sylvia to ensure that she remained the sole beneficiary on her will. The constant fights over Aunt Sylvia’s will led to a drawn-out court battle, which haunted Hetty for the remainder of her life. Hetty's mother, Abby Robinson, died on February 21, 1860, but her $100,000 estate went to her husband, except for an $8,000 (equivalent to $271,000 in 2023) house for Hetty.[9]
While residing in New York City, Hetty met her future husband, Edward Henry Green of
In May 1865, Hetty and Edward announced their engagement, but soon thereafter, Hetty's father and Aunt Silvia passed away. Although Hetty was the primary beneficiary on both estates, most of the assets were placed into trust, entitling Hetty only to the income. Edward Robinson's estate was estimated to be $6 million, but all but $1 million was placed in a trust that entitled Hetty only to the income. Sylvia Howland had willed half of her $2 million estate to charities and entities in the town of New Bedford; the rest was placed in a trust for Hetty, but once again without her control of the principal. This enraged Hetty because she believed that she could invest the assets more effectively and at much lower cost – a claim she later proved beyond any shadow of a doubt.[8]: 54, 63–65, 69, 71–77 [9]
Hetty was especially angered by Sylvia’s will, and she initiated a drawn-out court case disputing its legitimacy. The executor of Howland's will, Thomas Mandell, rejected Hetty's claim that an addendum to the will granted almost the entire estate to her. Mandell claimed that the addendum was a forgery, and it was challenged in court. The case, Hetty settled the case for a smaller percentage of the estate (approximately $600,000), which was placed in trust.
Exhausted from lawsuits and concerned about an effort by Hetty's cousins tried to have her indicted for forgery based on the Robinson v. Mandell decision, the couple moved overseas to London, where they lived in the
Investing career
Green followed a
When the Green family returned to the United States in October 1873, after Edward suffered losses on Wall Street, they settled in Edward's hometown of Bellows Falls, Vermont. Hetty quarreled with Edward's mother until her death in 1875. That same year, Hetty covered Edward's losses associated with the London and San Francisco Bank, of which he was one of the directors. Hetty bailed Edward out once again in 1884.[8]: 116, 122–129, 148
After the 1885 collapse of the financial house John J. Cisco & Son, of which Edward was a partner, it was disclosed Edward had $700,000 in debt. Hetty Green's $500,000 represented one-quarter of the bank's assets. The bank refused to allow her transfer of her $26 million in stocks, bonds, mortgages, and deeds to the Chemical National Bank, until Edward's debt was paid. In the end, Hetty made the transfer and paid off her husband's debt, but never forgave Edward.[8]: 148–151
Green set up an office in the Chemical Bank, but continued to live in boarding houses,
The Panic of 1907 provided an opportunity for Green to showcase many of the investment skills that she had accumulated over several decades. Unlike most Wall Street financiers, Green predicted the panic long before its arrival. She explained her foresight, stating, “I saw this situation developing three years ago, and I am on record as predicting it. I said the rich were approaching the brink, and that a ‘panic’ was inevitable.“[12] For several years prior to the panic, Green amassed a large cash position. When the panic arrived in October 1907, Green lent liberally to financiers and the City of New York to get them through the crisis. She was also the only woman invited to the critical meeting with J. Pierpont Morgan and the leading banking executives at the height of the crisis.[9]
Investment strategy
Green conducted much of her business at the offices of the Seaboard National Bank in New York, surrounded by trunks and suitcases full of her papers; she did not want to pay rent for her own office. Possibly because of her usually dour dress (due mainly to frugality, but perhaps in part related to her Quaker upbringing), she was given the nickname "the Witch of Wall Street".[13][3]
Green was a successful businesswoman who dealt mainly in real estate, invested in railroads and mines, and lent money while acquiring numerous mortgages. The City of New York came to Green for loans to keep the city afloat on several occasions, most particularly during the Panic of 1907; she wrote a check for $1.1 million and took her payment in short-term revenue bonds. Keenly detail-oriented, she would travel thousands of miles alone—in an era when few women would dare travel unescorted—to collect a debt of a few hundred dollars.
Reputation
Thrift
Hetty Green's thrift was legendary, but often misunderstood. The Gilded Age was an era known for its excesses, and Hetty Green was among the few investors who chose not to partake. Nevertheless, journalists often presented her thriftiness as evidence of her miserliness, when in fact it played an important role in her investing strategy. Examples of negative media portrayals included reports that she never turned on the heat or used hot water. She was also known for wearing a single black dress that she would not replace until it was thoroughly worn out. Moreover, she reportedly instructed her laundress to wash only the dirtiest parts of her dresses (the hems) to save money on soap. The harshest accusation, however, was that she neglected to treat her son's injured leg, which eventually resulted in an amputation. The evidence cited was her refusal to pay for a visit to a single physician. However, there is substantial evidence that Green put great expense and effort to treat her son. This included visits to multiple specialists, as well as temporarily relocating her residence so that she could care for him.[15][16]
Green's personal perspective on thrift differed markedly from that of the public. There is evidence that her frugality was passed down from her father, who was also a successful investor. She once explained her thrift by recounting an explanation her father gave after he rejected an expensive cigar that was offered to him, that “I smoke four cent cigars and I like them. If I were to smoke better ones, I might lose my taste for the cheap ones that I now find quite satisfactory.”[2] Green's thrift also reflected her Quaker upbringing. When a reporter questioned why she had spent so little time during a visit to an expensive hotel, she responded "Young man, I am a Quaker, and I am trying to live up to the tenets of that faith. That is why I dress plainly and live quietly. No other kind of life would please me."[16] Finally, Green’s thrift was essential to her investment strategy, as it enabled her to buy assets confidently in the midst of financial panics because it prepared her to live on minimal living expenses.[17]
Media portrayal
Green was often portrayed negatively in the media. Yet her investment strategy shunned the nefarious tactics that were commonly used by Wall Street speculators such as Daniel Drew, Jay Gould, and Jim Fisk. She once commented on this misperception:
It has turned out...that my life is written for me down in Wall Street by people who, I assume, do not care to know one iota of the real Hetty Green. I am in earnest; therefore they picture as heartless. I go my own way, take no partners, risk nobody else's fortune, therefore I am Madame Ishmael, set against every man.[16]
In Green's words:
I don't think society means what some rich people would have us believe, I should get very tired of living in one of the great houses in New York, going out all night and sleeping all day. They don't have any real pleasure. It's intercourse with people that I like.
She was a secret philanthropist, avoiding the attention of the press, stating, "I believe in discreet charity." Green also had the reputation of being an effective nurse, caring for her children and old neighbors. Her favorite poem was William Henry Channing's "My Symphony," which starts with "To live content with small means..."[8]: 184, 219, 224–226
Despite the strength of her ethics relative to her peers, Green entered the lexicon of turn-of-the-century America with the popular phrase "I'm not Hetty if I do look green." O. Henry used this phrase in his 1890s story "The Skylight Room", in which a young woman, negotiating the rent on a room in a rooming house owned by an imperious old lady, wishes to make it clear she is neither as rich as she appears nor as naive.[6]
Later life
As a young man, Ned Green moved away from his mother to manage the family's properties in Chicago and, later, Texas. In middle age, he returned to New York; his mother lived her final months with him.[6]
Green's daughter Sylvia lived with her mother until her thirties. Green disapproved of all of her daughter's suitors, suspecting that they were after her fortune. Sylvia finally married Matthew Astor Wilks on February 23, 1909, after a two-year courtship. A minor heir to the Astor fortune, Wilks entered the marriage with $2 million of his own, enough to assure Green that he was not a gold digger. Nonetheless, she compelled him to sign a prenuptial agreement waiving his right to inherit Sylvia's fortune.[6]
When her grown children left home, Green moved repeatedly among small apartments in
In her old age, Green developed a hernia, but refused to have an operation, preferring to use a stick to press down the swelling. She eventually moved her office to the National Park Bank, when she thought she had been poisoned at the Chemical Bank, a fear she had most of her life.[8]: 276, 282–283
Death and legacy
On July 3, 1916, Green died at age 81 at her son's New York City home.
Upon her death, Green was known as the "Wizard of Finance" and the "Richest Woman in America."[8]: 290 Estimates of her net worth ranged from $100 million to $200 million (equivalent to $2.7 billion to $5.4 billion in 2024), making her arguably the richest woman in the world at the time.[6]
Green was buried at the Immanuel Cemetery at the Immanuel Episcopal Church in Bellows Falls, Vermont, next to her husband. She had converted late in life to his Episcopalian faith so that she could be interred with him.[8]: 286–287 Their two children split her estate, which included a ten-year trust for Sylvia administered by Ned.[8]: 283 Sylvia died in 1951, leaving an estimated $200 million and donating all but $1,388,000 to 64 colleges, churches, hospitals, and other charities.[6] Both children were buried near their parents in Bellows Falls.[20]
Green's former mansion in
In Popular Culture
Hetty Green is mentioned in George M. Cohan’s song “Then I’d Be Satisfied With Life”. She is also mentioned in The Decemberists's song "Calamity Song."
The She-Wolf (1931) and You Can't Buy Everything (1934) are films about miserly billionaire businesswomen based on Green and played by Australian-born actress May Robson.
See also
- Business magnate
- Collyer brothers, New York City misers and hoarders
- Countess Annie Leary
References
- ^ "Hetty Green "the Witch of Wallstreet"" (PDF). nps.gov. National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ a b Higgins, Mark. “The Story of Hetty Green: America’s First Value Investor and Financial Grandmaster.” Financial History. Museum of American Finance. (Fall 2022). https://fhmagazine.org/mag/0907949001668081456/p13
- ^ a b c Rosenblum, Constance (December 19, 2004). "'Hetty': Scrooge in Hoboken". The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
Hetty Green was that rarity, a woman who largely through her own efforts amassed a ton of money during the Gilded Age, a time when virtually everyone else getting rich—Rockefeller, Morgan, Carnegie—was a man. By nearly all accounts she was also a thoroughly unpleasant individual, greedy, petty and often downright nasty
- ^ "Topics of the Times: A Prodigy Because a Woman". The New York Times. July 5, 1916. p. 10. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Daniel, Will. "Meet the 'Witch of Wall Street,' a pioneering value investor dressed in all black who became the world's richest woman—but is wrongly remembered as a cheapskate". Fortune. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ ISBN 0-06-054256-X.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-23748-4.
- ^ ISBN 9780307474575.
- ^ a b c d e f Higgins, Mark. “The Story of Hetty Green: America’s First Value Investor and Financial Grandmaster.” Working Paper: Social Science Research Network. (March 2022).
- ^ Robinson v. Mandell, 20 F. Cas. 1027 (C.C.D. Mass. 1868) (No. 11,959)
- ^ "Mrs. Hetty Wilks Dead At Age Of 80; Daughter Of Hetty Green, Noted For Financial Manipulations, Wed Descendant Of Astor "Accustomed To Economy" Active Until Last Year William A. Haegele George T. Cottrell Mrs. Max Besas". The New York Times. February 6, 1951.
Mrs. H. Sylvia Ann Howland Green Wilks of 988 Fifth Avenue, widow of Matthew Astor Wilks, and daughter of Hetty Green, the famous woman financier, died yesterday in the New York Hospital at the age of 80.
- ^ Sparkes, Boyden and Moore, Samuel Taylor (1930). The Witch of Wall Street: Hetty Green. New York: Doubleday, Doran, and Company.
- ^ The Miser Hurts No One But Herself, August 24, 2007, Jeffrey A. Tucker, Mises Institute: "she was called "the witch of Wall Street.""
- ISBN 978-0470139516. Wiley, 2007
- ^ "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", NPR radio program, episode of April 3, 2010
- ^ a b c Sparkes, Boyden (1935). Hetty Green. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc.
- ^ Higgins, Mark. “The Story of Hetty Green: America’s First Value Investor and Financial Grandmaster.” Working Paper: Social Science Research Network. (March 2022). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4054959
- ISBN 978-0-88365-861-1
- ^ a b "Hetty Green Dies, Worth $100,000,000; Passes Away At Son's Home After Several Paralytic Strokes, Aged 82. Hoped To Live To Be 85 Invested Heavily In Bonds And Mortgages In Recent Years. Stock Market Not Affected. Hetty Green Dies Worth $100,000,000". The New York Times. July 4, 1916.
Mrs. Hetty Green, generally believed to be the world's richest woman, died yesterday in her eighty-second year after an illness of several months. The woman whose great business acumen had built up a fortune estimated at $100,000,000 and had made her name known in the market places of the world faced death as she had life, militantly and unafraid.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2005.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), Stevens College - ^ Hazard, Sharon. "The Show Goes On: Life at the Lillian Booth Home Entertainment veterans enjoy a second act at the Lillian Booth Home in Englewood.", New Jersey Monthly, February 24, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2021. "In 1928, the Actors Fund acquired the home's current site in a hilly section of Bergen County, a short drive from the bright lights of Broadway. The original home on the site had belonged to Hetty Green, a wealthy financier once considered America's richest woman."
Further reading
- Caplan, Sheri J. Petticoats and Pinstripes: Portraits of Women in Wall Street's History. Praeger, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4408-0265-2.
- Ford, Carol. "Hetty Green, A Character Study". National Magazine, September 1905.
- Lewis, Arthur H. The Day They Shook the Plum Tree. New York: Harcourt Brace. (1963); Buccaneer Books, Cutchogue, NY (1990) ISBN 0-89966-600-0.
- ISBN 978-0-465-03292-1. (Ninth chapter: "Math error number 9: choosing a wrong model. The case of Hetty Green: a battle of wills").
- Slack, Charles. Hetty: The Genius and Madness of America's First Female Tycoon. New York: Ecco (2004). ISBN 0-06-054256-X.
- Wallach, Janet (September 25, 2012). The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-385-53198-6. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- Higgins, Mark. “The Story of Hetty Green: America’s First Value Investor and Financial Grandmaster.” Financial History. Museum of American Finance. (Fall 2022). https://fhmagazine.org/mag/0907949001668081456/p13
- Robert Kanigher. "Plenty of Money -- Nothing!" in Ragman #2 (October–November 1976), DC Comics. (Pop culture summary of her life story)