Incredible stinginess made her the richest woman in the world, but this did not bring her happiness.
A real financial genius of the early 20th century, she could have gone down in history as a stock exchange queen or a great philanthropist, but she entered it as «the witch from Wall Street.»
To this day, she appears in the Guinness Book of Records with a unique reason for pride — «the most stingy person in the world.»
A millionaire who spent her whole life wandering around rented apartments and heating oatmeal on the radiator, and once all night looking for a postage stamp no more than a couple of cents.
Children’s business
What influenced the life and character of this greatest miser, why such a thirst for hoarding to the detriment of all the joys of life? After all, Getty Green was born far from a poor family and never felt the need.
Her parents, adherents of the religious society of the Quakers, owned a serious whaling industry and received fabulous profits. Apparently, along with the genes, the commercial vein got into the blood of the daughter.
At the age of six, she was already seriously interested in business, read books on economics and financial newspapers, understood stock quotes, and at the age of 13 she was a real family bookkeeper. By the way, she opened her first bank account — hold on tight to the chair — at the age of eight.
Getty acquired the basics of upbringing at a Quaker school, where the children were drummed every day that the main virtue in life is thrift. Note, not stinginess.
When the girl turned 19, her father sent her to gain secular experience and gloss in New York with $ 1,200 in her pocket. Very decent money. But it was not the high society that lured the Getty, but the game on the stock exchange — that’s where the real adrenaline is!
She returned home in the same dress, but happy. By betting on the stock exchange, she doubled the initial capital that her father gave her. It was then that she realized that her home was Wall Street, and making money was her calling.
Money has become a real fetish for her. She literally made them out of thin air, and her quirks instantly scattered around the district. So, on her 21st birthday, Getty refused to light candles on a birthday cake, and the next morning she sold them on the market.
And she didn’t throw away the used napkins, but washed and smoothed them for new feasts. She constantly walked in the same old dress, scaring away potential suitors, although she was outwardly an attractive girl.
This dress was washed in exceptional cases, and even then not all, but only the hem stained on the sidewalk. We apologize for such shocking details, but even Getty changed her underwear when it was worn out to holes.
Marriage
After the death of her father, she inherited a decent capital and gained the status of an enviable bride. Marriage was not part of her plans, but everything was decided by chance.
Edward Green, her father’s business partner, had been eyeing the girl for a long time and confessed his love for her in a letter, but accidentally sent a bill for the suit instead of him.
The amount in the check was a pleasant surprise. How economical he is — Henrietta was fascinated and agreed to become his wife, but with a prerequisite — drawing up a marriage contract, where the husband does not claim a single cent earned by her.
The money received as an inheritance, Getty invested in the military campaign of the North against the South and did not lose. She made an even bigger profit by investing in American railroad bonds.
Considerable income was brought by another of her crazy passions, in which she achieved aerobatics — usury. Where is the literary old money-lender! Here an American colleague would show her a real master class.
Getty did not frighten debtors with high interest rates even in severe crises and always won. Even the city hall of New York applied to her for loans. Her financial credo was striking in its simplicity:
«You should always buy low, sell high, combining this rule with three things — insight, perseverance and thrift.» But here Getty was clearly playing a trick, covering up her incredible stinginess under frugality, which made her the main character not only in the news of the world of finance, but also in scandalous reports.
Life went on as usual, Getty was at work with her head: real estate, speculation on exchange rates, securities. Nevertheless, she managed to give birth to a son, Ned, and a daughter, Sylvia.
She divorced her husband without any regret, having learned that he was stealing her money through figureheads and was already on the hook with creditors. In 1902 he died due to chronic nephritis.
Meanwhile, Getty’s income grew by leaps and bounds, but her stinginess grew even faster. Owning entire neighborhoods in Chicago, she never owned a home of her own, preferring to live in cheap rented apartments or second-rate hotels. Her extravagant attitude to everyday life is amazing.
So, she washed in a bucket right in the room, threw the tied wet things out the window, and then laid them out to dry on the grass. And weekly trips to the store became a real torture for Sylvia and Ned.
They could not even dream of different goodies, but only, burning with shame, watched how their mother tirelessly bargained for prices, how both sellers and buyers unanimously hated her.
As a rule, yesterday’s bread and oatmeal were strategic purchases. In total, a weekly supply of food was allocated … five dollars (read also: I walked in rags, ate leftovers: what was the prototype of Scrooge).
