Known As The Witch Of Wall Street, She Became The Richest Woman In The World By The Time She Died In 1916, Worth The Equivalent Of $2.5 Billion Today
Henrietta “Hetty” Green was one of the most financially successful women of her time on Wall Street. She was known as the “Witch of Wall Street.” At her death in 1916, she was named the richest woman in the world, with her worth estimated at more than $100 million, the equivalent of about $2.5 billion today.
Her fortune rivaled that of JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and other male tycoons of the day. Men would even seek her out for guidance because she dominated the world of American finance. So, how exactly did Hetty Green rise through the ranks and obtain such great wealth?
Green was born in 1834 to a Massachusetts Quaker family who was already wealthy. Before she was born, her family made millions through their whaling and shipping business.
Her grandfather, Gideon Howland, passed on his skillset with money to her. He would often encourage her to read papers on finance and talk to her about financial affairs when she was young.
At the age of eight, she had a bank account in which she saved up nickels from allowances and rewards for good behavior. By the time Green was 13 years old, she was in charge of accounting for the family business.
When she was 20, her father bought her a wardrobe of fancy dresses so she could find herself a wealthy husband. However, she sold the clothes and used the money to buy government bonds instead.
Green was excellent with numbers and displayed a remarkable talent for increasing them. She managed massive real estate deals, made loans, and bought and sold railroads. She often held banks and even entire cities in the palm of her hand because of enormous loans.
She would also purchase falling stocks and foreclosed properties, benefiting from the misfortune of others.
“Depending on who you asked, she was either a brilliant strategist or a ruthless loan shark. Collis P. Huntington, the man who built the Central Pacific Railroad and personal enemy of Hetty, called her ‘nothing more than a glorified pawnbroker.'”
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Like the other major financiers of her time, Green engaged in unethical activities. For instance, after her Aunt Sylvia Howland died, she produced a letter in court with a forged signature that claimed she was the lawful heir of her aunt’s inheritance.
Aunt Sylvia had died with over $2 million, and her will gave $1 million to charities, leaving $1 million to Green as investments managed by Sylvia’s physician. Green ended up losing in court.
Although she did not have complete control over her inheritance, she was able to grow the wealth she did have access to. She continued investing in stocks, government bonds, real estate, and railroads.
By 1885, her fortune was valued at $26 million. In 1867, she married a man named Edward Henry Green. He was a wealthy businessman from Vermont who became a millionaire by age 44. Of course, she had him sign a pre-nuptial agreement to protect her money.
They had two children together, and after her husband died young, she groomed her son Edward to take over the family fortune. When Green started to wear black clothes to mourn her husband’s death, newspapers began referring to her as the “Witch of Wall Street.”
She also became extremely frugal, to the point where she moved her family to cheap housing and denied medical treatment for herself and her children, which led to her son needing a leg amputation.
Green died in 1916. She gave $1 million to the descendants of her grandfather and $25,000 to her friends. She left the rest of her $100 million estate to her children. Hetty Green made valuable contributions to the field of investing.
She created jobs throughout the country and served as an example of a woman who thrived in a male-dominated industry.
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