102 years ago, the most greedy woman in the world died

On July 3, 1916, the most greedy woman in the world died. Henrietta Howland Getty Green, who was called the "witch of Wall Street" behind her back, was not killed by greed at all - she died at the age of 81 from a heart attack. Her name appears in the Guinness Book of Records with the mark "The stingiest man in the world." At the time of her death, Getty was the richest woman of that time, her fortune totaled $ 4 billion. She owned more than 8 thousand plots of land, was a notable moneylender and bought shares of companies related to railways.

Henrietta was born in 1834 in a family that owned a good fortune at that time. The Howlands' main source of income was whale oil. The girl's upbringing was entirely handled by her grandfather, Gideon Howland. Henrietta belonged to a Protestant religious group of Quakers, quite common at that time in the states of New England. The name "Quaker" comes from the English quake — to tremble, to tremble. Among the Quakers' life commandments have always been self-restraint, unpretentiousness in food and clothing.

When old Gideon's eyesight began to weaken, seven-year-old Getty would climb onto his lap and read out newspaper financial news reports with genuine interest, tolerably understanding the difference between stocks and bonds. At the age of 13, she became a family accountant.

There are legends about her incredible thrift, which eventually turned into avarice. Henrietta was quite a pretty girl, but the grooms were slightly alarmed by the fact that the young lady walks in the same worn dress and worn shoes. After her mother's death, Getty rarely hosted parties. And the word "arranged" is inappropriate here: they say that young Green extinguished expensive candles before the guests left, and sold the stubs the next day; the millionaire's daughter did not throw away napkins, but sprayed them with water and ironed them to use them again.

After the death of her father in 1865, Henrietta became the heiress of an impressive fortune of 7.5 million dollars. It was at that moment that she met her future husband, Edward Green.

In the family of American Greens there were congressmen and judges, and Edward's own uncle was the mayor of Boston. Edward himself, who spoke several languages, including Chinese, traveled half the world. For eighteen years he stayed in the Philippines, where he made a considerable fortune in the trade of silk, tea, tobacco and hashish.

Edward supported Henrietta when her father died, and then when her aunt died. Two years later, Henrietta agreed to go down the aisle with Edward Green. The couple legitimized their relationship and sealed it with a marriage contract, according to which Edward was not entitled to a cent of the Getty fortune. The family is a family, and the money is apart. And even when her husband went broke and got into debt, Getty did not help her husband. She just chased him away.

Even then, Getty Green was known by everyone on Wall Street. She owned hectares of land and real estate. She had no equal in usury and in the game on the stock exchange. Brokers knew that if Getty Green buys shares of the company, then tomorrow the price of these securities will skyrocket. When buying securities, Getty learned the ins and outs of the company and could tell even more about it than the owner.

Henrietta left two children from her marriage: Ned and Sylvia, who periodically suffered from their mother's excessive thrift. Green had no home of her own, lived in the cheapest motels, and saved on medicines and groceries. Henrietta almost never spent money on clothes and shoes, and changed her underwear only when the previous one turned into rags. She never used the services of maids and laundresses. After reading the latest press, she sent Ned to sell the newspaper. In the store, she could bargain for hours for every cent—most sellers hated Getty.

Because of Henrietta's stinginess, her son Ned lost a leg. In one of the frosty winters, Ned was bought a sled. The guy could not believe his luck and immediately chose the steepest and most dangerous slides for riding. During one of the descents, the sled turned over and the boy severely injured his leg. In a fit of economy, Henrietta went to beggars' hospitals for help. Unfortunately, everyone knew the miser well by sight. Doctors refused to help her son. Then Getty decided to treat the boy at home: for several years Ned suffered from terrible pains, and after that his leg was amputated above the knee.

The aging Getty never left the fear of assassination, and she came to rare acquaintances with her own food and even an alcohol burner for cooking eggs. Having received a license to carry a weapon, she never parted with it. The cars that appeared, as well as any luxury items, were rejected, saying: "It was enough for Jesus Christ to move the donkey." It was at the moment of her morning passage "to the service" that the photographer's lens captured the unusual appearance of this woman: a black deaf cloak, a hat with a widow's veil, an evil old woman's face and a sharp, not at all senile gait. Either this repulsive appearance, or the constant rumors about strange, extraordinary actions caused the appearance of her newspaper nickname "the witch of Wall Street."

At 81, Getty died of a heart attack. Her two children inherited a huge fortune — about $ 4 billion in current money. Ned Green later became known by the nickname "Uncle Ned". He invested his part in a good life, cars and technological developments. Sylvia became a generous philanthropist. Getty is pictured with Sylvia.

After the death of his mother, Ned almost immediately got married and became interested in the automotive industry. Of course, his own car was one of the first acquisitions of the family.