History Guinness world Of Records: What You Need To Know About Meet The Most Stingy Woman
Hetty Green, often considered the most miserly woman in history, amassed a fortune that would be equivalent to over $2.3 billion today. Born in America in 1835, she was the only daughter of a prosperous businessman.
She inherited an estimated $7.5 million from her father. At twenty-one, Hetty moved to New York City to invest her inheritance in Wall Street, earning the nickname “the Witch of Wall Street.”
Despite marrying a fellow millionaire, Hetty maintained an extraordinarily frugal lifestyle. She subsisted on leftover pastries and broken biscuits from grocery stores and argued daily to obtain a free bone for her dog. Known for her extreme parsimony, she famously sewed herself a pair of underpants at sixteen and continued wearing them until her death.
Hetty was notorious for her reluctance to spend money, reportedly avoiding hot water, wearing a single black dress until it wore out, and living on two-cent pies.
Her stinginess had severe consequences; her son had to have his leg amputated after she delayed medical treatment, seeking free care instead.
Hetty Green passed away in 1916 at the age of 81 in New York City. She was posthumously recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “most miserly person in the world.”
Her death resulted from a stroke triggered by an argument with her maid over a salary increase. Despite her frugality, her children did not follow in her footsteps. Her daughter, for example, was known for her generosity and even funded the construction of a free hospital.
