Henrietta Howland Green had a very wealthy family. Her mother was too ill to care for her, so she was mostly raised by her father and grandfather. They taught her how to manage money from a young age, and handling money became her greatest skill. Hetty showed an early aptitude for finance, which proved to be very beneficial throughout her life. When both of her parents passed away, she inherited the family fortune of $7.5 million.
Hetty Green was a disciplined investor and a financier. She oversaw real estate deals, bought and sold railroads, and made loans. Like many other millionaires of the Gilded Age, Hetty was both ruthless and brilliant. She took her money to Wall Street, which opened up new realms of finance. Hetty was very meticulous; she would do plenty of research on railway stocks and bond offering before buying.
She wasn't particularly concerned with love, which was quite unusual for women at the time. She didn't trust the men who showed interest in her, assuming that they were only attracted to her wealth. She eventually married Edward Henry Green who was also wealthy, although he was not as good at managing money. Hetty attempted to keep their finances separate, but this was incredibly difficult for a woman in the 19th century when husbands had full control over their wives. Hetty became frustrated with her husband and his inability to save money, and they separated after a few years. However, she returned to his side to help him during his dying months. When Edward died, she wore widow's clothing in mourning. Her somber appearance largely contributed to her nickname as the "Witch of Wall Street."
Hetty's methods of increasing her wealth show that she was quite greedy and stingy in some cases. When her aunt died in 1868, Hetty was supposed to receive only a small fraction of her money, with the rest of it going to charities and family friends. Hetty was outraged and challenged the will in court, stating that her aunt's entire fortune was meant to go to her. She lost the case, but she continued her quest for wealth and success. In another situation, Hetty proved that she valued money over her own health and comfort. She suffered a hernia for 20 years before deciding to see a doctor. When the doctor recommended immediate surgery which would cost $150, she refused. She claimed that all doctors were "a bunch of robbers" for trying to charge her so much for treatment. She moved frequently, living in tiny apartments in order to hide from the press and tax collectors. When her son's leg was injured, she went to a charity hospital to receive free treatment. Unfortunately, these hospitals didn't have skilled doctors and effective medicine. Eventually, her son's leg was infected and had to be amputated. Hetty's obsession with money certainly had a negative impact on herself and her loved ones.
Hetty's stinginess did prove to be successful in the long run. When she passed away in July 1916, she was worth $200 million, which would be a fortune of about $2 billion by today's standards.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financialcareers/09/hetty-green-witch-wall-street.asp
http://mentalfloss.com/article/49379/life-and-times-hetty-hoarder-witch-wall-street
Emma, I thought you did a great job of introducing an important figure that we haven't learned much about. It seems natural that during the Gilded Age there would be incredibly wealthy women as well, but this specific story really outlines the ambition and greed that defined the path of industrialists during this time. A hypothetical question I have for Hetty herself would be what was the goal of making all that money? Because it seems as though she doesn't spend it, and she doesn't donate it, and those are pretty much the two options for the wealthy at the time. Perhaps she was saving it for her children? She doesn't seem to be that kind of person though. Just a question to get at the mindset of industrialists at the time.
ReplyDeleteWow, I found this article extremely interesting, especially because of the fact that we studied many of the other influential Americans from this time period, but I have not even heard about Hetty Green before this. The fact that she seems to be out shined by her male counterparts of the same age, really highlights the defined social roles of each gender during this time period. I found out that at the time she passed away, she owned 6,000 properties in 48 states, really adding on to the greed and ambition that these tycoons of the Gilded Age possessed. A possible answer to Henry's hypothetical question could be perhaps she gained her wealth to live in luxury, or it could have even stemmed from a hope to prove herself, a woman, in a society centered around men.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated to read about a powerful woman making her fortune during the industrial era, considering that during this time period the ideas of "spheres" for men and women were still going strong in many parts of the country. I think it's very sad that in her quest to get money, she was too stingy to spend any of it and therefore ending up having negative consequences such as her son losing his leg. This causes me to wonder why she was so driven to be rich. Did she wish to rival the powerful men of America in a stand for women's rights? Did she simply love money? The Library of Congress (https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2012/03/but-was-she-really-the-witch-of-wall-street/) suggests that she may have been preparing for likely economic panics which she knew were coming soon, but it also includes quotes of her giving tips to women hoping for careers in finance, which may be evidence that she was trying to pave the way for women in careers that would be considered outside of their "sphere".
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this, Emma! It's fascinating to learn about this financially powerful woman. Though she wasn't as powerful as Morgan, Rockefeller, and Carnegie, she still had quite a bit of influence. I thought the most interesting part of your post was your discussion of the dynamics of her marriage. It's unbelievable that at this time, women could have millions of dollars and yet still be subordinated in marriage. She clearly broke many glass ceilings in her life, but one of the most substantial had to be her prioritization of her fortune over her husband. He stinginess clearly wasn't always beneficial, but in the case of her marriage, I think it helped to lessen the expectation that women will remain at home and prioritize their husbands.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job on picking such an interesting person of history! I loved reading this. Especially because today women still fall to the stereotypical role of being a house wife. Her ability to be frugal against all odd is really inspiring, don't you think? Also I love the background when it comes to her ability to care for and I admire her ability to separate church and state. In your intro you reference people such as JP Morgan who we went into depth on in class, but by the way you talk about Hetty Greens it sounds as if she was similar in wealth. My point is why don't we talk about her success. If she worked and traded with the same railroads that JP Morgan did.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting and informative piece about a powerful woman on Wall Street. Henrietta Howland was simply raised for the job. As mentioned, she developed greedy tendencies. She was paranoid about her lovelife because of fear for being used for her money or distracted by a relationship which she thought could sidetrack her business. The fact that Henrietta sacrificed her own as well as her child's health for her money shows a scary amount of dedication to her money. To me it seems absurd for someone to pass on a surgery they need and can afford. Even more so for their child. She was clearly not meant to be a mother or a wife, she was far better off alone with her money.
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