her dresses (the hems) to save money on soap. Yet, from Hetty's perspective, "Just because I dress plainly and do not spend a fortune on my gowns, they say I am cranky or insane." There is also considerable evidence that her frugality was passed down from her family and reflected her Quaker upbringing. She once explained her thriftiness by recounting an explanation offered by her father after he rejected an expensive cigar that was offered to him. He explained the decision by stating, “I smoke four cent cigars and I like them. If I were to smoke better ones, I might lose my taste for the cheap ones that I now find quite satisfactory.” Green’s thrift was also critical to her investment strategy, as it enabled her to buy assets confidently in the midst of financial panics because she knew that she could live on minimal living expenses. The importance of thrift to a value investor is point that is often missed when evaluating Hetty Green’s life. Green conducted much of her business at the offices of the Seaboard National Bank in New York, surrounded by trunks and suitcases full of her papers; she did not want to pay rent for her own office. Possibly because of her usually dour dress (due mainly to frugality, but perhaps in part related to her Quaker upbringing), she was given the nickname "the Witch of Wall Street". Green was a successful businesswoman who dealt mainly in real estate, invested in railroads and mines, and lent money while acquiring numerous mortgages. The City of New York came to Green for loans to keep the city afloat on several occasions, most particularly during the Panic of 1907; she wrote a check for $1.1 million and took her payment in short-term revenue bonds. Keenly detail-oriented, she would travel thousands of miles alone—in an era when few women would dare travel unescorted—to collect a debt of a few hundred dollars. Green entered the lexicon of turn-of-the-century America with the popular phrase "I'm not Hetty if I do look green." O. Henry used this phrase in his 1890s story "The Skylight Room" when a young woman, negotiating the rent on a room in a rooming house owned by an imperious old lady, wishes to make it clear she is neither as rich as she appears nor as naive. Green's frugality extended to family life. Her son Ned had