The Knowledge Project

Hetty Green: The Witch of Wall Street [Outliers]

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Hetty Green was the richest woman you've never heard of.

In the late 1800s, she built a fortune worth billions today in a world designed to stop her. Women couldn't vote, couldn't own property in most states, and were banned from the New York Stock Exchange floor entirely.

She was a force that couldn't be stopped. She bought entire towns, crushed railroad barons, and became the lender of last resort during financial panics. Her strategies still work today.

This is the story of how an unwanted daughter became "The Witch of Wall Street," and a playbook for building lasting wealth and independence.

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Some of the lessons in this episode:

  1. “I buy when things are low and nobody wants them. I keep them until they go up and people are crazy to get them.”
  2. Position beats prediction. Always keep cash reserves.
  3. “If you can manage your brain, you can manage your fortune.”
  4. “Before deciding on an investment, seek out every kind of information about it.”
  5. The skills to get rich and the skills to stay rich are not the same.
  6. “In business generally, don’t close a bargain until you have reflected on it overnight.”
  7. Only invest when downside risk is low and upside is high.
  8. Self-reliance is the ultimate competitive advantage.
  9. Everyone looks smart when they’re in a good position, and even the smartest person looks like a fool in a bad one.
  10. Panics are temporary. Value is permanent.
  11. Have a detective’s eye. Uncover what others miss or ignore.
  12. “I go my own way, take no partners, risk nobody else’s fortune.”
  13. “Never owe anyone anything. Not even a kindness.”
  14. Mix extreme patience with extreme decisiveness.
  15. Never bet against America.
  16. “Watch your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.”
  17. Move in silence. Keep your positions private.
  18. Never take advantage of people, even when you could.
  19. “When you try to do too much, you never get anywhere. Focus.”
  20. Stay connected to reality. Frugality keeps you grounded.
  21. “When it comes to spending your life, there have to be some things neglected. If you try to do too much, you can never get anywhere.”
  22. “My work is my amusement.”
  23. “Property is a trust to be enlarged for future generations.”
  24. Live by your own rules, not society’s expectations.
  25. Be fair in all things. Your conscience will haunt you otherwise.
  26. “Don’t kick a man when he’s down.”
  27. “Seek elegance rather than luxury, refinement rather than fashion.”
  28. “When I see a good thing going cheap because nobody wants it, I buy a lot of it and tuck it away.”
  29. From her favorite poem: “To live content with small means; To seek elegance rather than luxury, And refinement rather than fashion; To be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich.”

    30. Learn more at https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-hetty-green/

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