Hetty Green - the "Witch of Wall Street" and investment queen of the 19th century

She was one of the few women who became known for their extraordinary success on the American financial market. In the 19th century, when the fair sex used to run the household and did not yet have the right to vote, Hetty Green was already successfully investing and trading on the stock exchange. For her rare ability to increase the capital and the black dress she always wore, Henrietta was nicknamed the "Witch of Wall Street".
The richest woman in the United States of her time, born Hetty Robinson inherited $7.5 million after her father's death. Sharp business sense and far-sighted financial decisions helped Green increase her fortune to $100-200 million by the end of her life. By today's standards, the amount reaches $ 2.5 to $4.8 billion!

Hetty was born in 1834 into a family of a whaling fleet owner. The parents taught their daughter to live simply and savingly, according to the Quakers religious principles the family followed. The girl was introduced to the big money world at the age of six, starting to read aloud articles about finance to her father and grandfather. At the age of 13, Getty already did her father's accounting, and later began to be interested in investing in promising companies.

After getting married, Henrietta entered into a prenuptial agreement with her husband, in which each spouse was instructed to manage their own personal finance. Since Edward Green tended to blow money, Hetty had to regularly save him from getting into debt. As a result, she left her husband with two children and focused on investing. The projects which the "New York Witch" successfully invested in included factories, churches, copper and gold mines.

Despite her fabulous wealth, Green was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest miser: she always wore an old shabby dress, bought only the cheapest goods, and mercilessly bargained with sellers. She saved even in small things: once Hetty went to the doctor, but refused treatment because the doctor had charged her $150.

There was also a case when Hetty Green asked the laundrywoman to reduce the laundry bill by five cents. The latter did not agree, and Green suggested an economical solution: to wash only the hem of the dress which gets dirtier than the rest of the garment.

There was another side to this strange woman that few people knew about. According to her children, Hetty regularly helped the poor and gave away large sums to charity.

Do you think that Hetty's miserliness can be justified, or you should treat yourself?