Hetty Green Witch of Wall Street

It must be said that Hetty was honest in business and didn’t try to cheat people. She made money by shrewd investments. Hetty continually reinvested her profits and spent as little as possible on maintaining herself or her family. She wore the same dress over and over, rarely cleaning it, and only bought a new (used) dress when the old one was falling apart.

Hetty lived in New York City, in cheap hotels, but moved continuously to evade the tax assessor. Her children were forced to live her frugal existence. Her son, Ted, paid the price for this. His knee was injured while sledding and Hetty didn’t want to pay for a doctor. She tried to care for him herself, then she took him to a free clinic, where the doctors recognized her and asked for payment. She refused, Ted went without effective treatment and the leg was eventually amputated.

Hetty had a great fear of being killed for her money. That was another reason why she moved often. She also carried a gun in her large handbag, along with all her financial documents. Hetty had no office, she didn’t want to pay for one, so she demanded of her bankers that they give her free space on bank premises. There she transacted business, using her bag and special pockets in her petticoats to store money and documents.

In 1902, Hetty’s husband died and Hetty started dressing exclusively in black, this lead to her being called “The Witch of Wall Street”. The black dresses were rarely watched and eventually started to turn green from dirt and grime. Hetty Green was an unforgettable site.

Hetty’s children grew up in unnecessary poverty and deprivation.  They lived in cheap hotels, wore rags and lived on stale bread and the cheapest food. Her daughter eventually married well and when she married, both children split an inheritance of over 100 million dollars. They got more enjoyment out of the money than Hetty ever did. Ted spent his money on yachts, gold chamber pots and underage girls. Hetty must have been rolling in her grave.