They called her “the Witch of Wall Street” and Hetty Green didn’t seem to mind. Her singular focus on wringing every ounce of value out of her money made her wealthy and, more importantly, allowed her to maintain control over her own life. “It is the duty of every woman, I believe, to learn to take care of her own business affairs,” she said. While her ideas might have been radical at the time, her investing strategy was not. Hetty believed in research, patience, discernment and value. She claimed she never made a business deal without sleeping on it overnight. “I believe in getting in at the bottom and out on top,” she said. “I like to buy railroad stocks or mortgage bonds. When I see a good thing going cheap because nobody wants it, I buy a lot of it and tuck it away.” Her estimated worth at the time of her death at the age of 82 in 1916 was between $100 million to $200 million (equivalent to $2.35 billion to $4.7 billion today), the vast majority of which was earned via her own efforts. In fact, Hetty had to bail out her husband Edward more than once and left him after she had to put up $500,000 of her own money to cover his losses when his bank failed in 1884. She also bailed out the city of New York with a $1.1 million check in 1907 and negotiated her repayment in short-term bonds. A firm believer in pre-nuptials, Hetty not only made Edward sign one prior to their marriage, she also insisted her daughter’s husband sign one and encouraged all women to protect their assets in marriage. So frugal she wore the same single black dress and, reportedly, undergarments until they fell apart, Hetty remains listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest miser. However, she also quietly supported many charities and said… | Read More »
Wealth Management
Abigail Adams got the last word
Abigail Adams got the last word. Wife and mother to U.S. presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Abigail earned her own place in history through her prolific letter writing, her strong stand against slavery and her equally passionate advocation for women’s rights, especially in finance. An astute financier herself, during a time when women were not allowed to own property, Abigail invested what she called “her own pocket money” in government and war bonds. Not only did the bonds pay an excellent rate of return, they also allowed her to keep the money from being considered “tangible property” and, therefore, her husband’s under the law. By some reports, Abigail earned 400% on her investments, which she used to help other women in need, including her own sister. She also managed the household finances for her husband, who was often away from the family farm as he pursued a political career in Philadelphia and abroad. Abigail oversaw a very busy household that included her own six children (two of whom died in infancy), several nieces and nephews and even, for a time, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter Maria “Polly” Jefferson. The Adams had a well-documented happy marriage, despite the geography that often separated them. Their letters to each other provide a clear view of a husband who relied heavily on his wife’s sound counsel. Abigail herself was reluctant to release those letters to the public during her lifetime as the political landscape was particularly fractious at the time, but her grandson later released all 1,200 of them. They don’t just provide valuable insight into the mindset of the influential Adams family, they also offer an almost play-by-play documentation of those revolutionary times. In her last act as an advocate and savvy investor, Abigail, who died of Typhoid at age 73, wrote a will that left the majority of her possessions to her female relatives. You can read a copy of her very… | Read More »
A Pleasant capitalist and fearless activist
In honor of Black History Month, we are honoring key members of the African American community who have made a lasting impact on the financial industry. An astute investor and talented chef, Mary Ellen Pleasant did not mince words. Asked to list her profession in the 1890 census, Pleasant wrote “Capitalist”, both an accurate and lofty label for the former slave. She famously received a letter from a pastor in which he addressed her as “Mammy Pleasant,” a nickname she despised. “I wrote back to him on his own paper that my name was Mrs. Mary E. Pleasant. I wouldn’t waste any of my paper on him,” she reportedly said. Born into slavery and then sold as an indentured servant, Pleasant and her eventual business partner amassed a fortune of more than $30 million, which she used to help fund the abolitionist movement. In fact, she wrote and initialed a note found in abolitionist John Brown’s pocket after he was hanged for murder and treason. She also had given him $30,000 for the cause and promised to send more as needed. Pleasant began building her fortune by taking advantage of her combined talents for catering and self-education. She opened her own restaurant in San Francisco and eventually bought several restaurants, boarding houses and laundries all with the goal of employing freed slaves. An important conductor on the Underground Railway, Pleasant earned the title “Black City Hall”, because she so regularly granted start-up funds and found jobs for San Francisco’s African American population. Working with a white man named Thomas Bell, Pleasant also invested in silver and together they became extremely successful. Though she initially passed as a white woman, Pleasant updated her race affiliation on the census after the Civil War, saying “I’d rather be a corpse than a coward.” In the late 1860s, she successfully sued two railway companies in San Francisco for discrimination, which led to San Francisco… | Read More »
The legacy of Alonzo Herndon
In honor of Black History Month, we are honoring key members of the African American community who have made a lasting impact on the financial industry. History loves rule-changers, game-changers and world-changers, and Alonzo Franklin Herndon elegantly achieved all three. Born into slavery in 1858, Herndon rose to become Georgia’s first black millionaire and he built an industry along the way. Recognizing a need for low-to-moderate income earners to have access to life insurance, Herndon founded Atlanta Life Insurance Company with a $140 investment. Today, that company spans 17 states and remains the only African-American owned and privately held stock company in the country with a financial services platform that includes asset management and insurance. Emancipated as a small boy following the Civil War, Herndon and his family began their free life in abject poverty. They all worked as sharecroppers and young Alonzo also helped out by peddling goods and working odd jobs. Due to these financial constraints, he managed just one year of formal education in his entire life. He reportedly left his hometown with just $11, which he used to begin learning how to become a barber. A quick learner with a natural business mind, he eventually owned three highly successful barber shops in and around Atlanta. The flagship shop, called the Crystal Palace, featured gold fixtures, marble floors and crystal chandeliers, and catered to the city’s elite white businessmen. In a painful irony, Herndon could not enter the front door of his own business due to Jim Crowe Laws. Still, he saw his customer base as opportunities to learn, he enjoyed picking their brains while he cut their hair and he used this knowledge to build an astonishing legacy. He began purchasing real estate and eventually owned 100 properties, including a stately mansion he helped design that became his family’s home. Today, you can tour that home and appreciate its fine details. In 1908 Herndon bought a… | Read More »
Five steps toward reducing stress in retirement
Most people think numbers determine how much stress they will face in retirement, figuring the more money they have saved the less they will have to worry about. But, while money is an important factor in retirement planning, it is not the determining factor, not even close. The real way to avoid stress in retirement is through preparation. Here are five steps you can take now to avoid fretting your way through those golden years: Have a plan for what you want to do. Will you travel? Develop a hobby? Schedule time with your grandchildren? Work part time? Volunteer? Think hard about how you would like to fill the extra time you will have and then set a schedule. You may think giving up a set schedule is something to look forward to in retirement, but most people find that they value a reason to get up in the morning. Retirement is not vacation. Having a purpose will make your life much more joyful and stress free. Retire when you are financially able, not when you think you should. There is no guarantee that you will be able to retire when you reach the government mandated full retirement age. That all depends on your timeline, your budget, your savings and your potential income stream. Align all of that and you’ll be well on your way to a relaxing retirement. Treat yourself to some discipline. Exercise, eat right, maintain a set sleeping schedule, get dressed and leave the house at least once a day. Retirement is not an excuse to abandon the healthy habits that allowed you to earn that A.A.R.P card. Define your retirement the way you want to, not the way you’ve been told it should be. You’ve put in the work, you’ve amassed the savings, you’ve stuck to your plan. Now, you get to spend your time the way you choose. No two retirements look the same. If… | Read More »