The Witch of Wall Street

Posted by Miss Cellania in Bathroom Reader, History, Money & Finance on March 21, 2011 at 5:08 am

The following is an article taken from the book Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History.

She walked up and down Wall Street in rags -but in her day she was the richest woman in America. Meet Hetty Green, financial genius and obsessive skinflint.

The employees at Manhattan’s Chemical and National Bank were too intimidated to laugh at the strange woman who visited their vaults on a daily basis, even though she had a laundry list of eccentricities as long as your arm. She wore clothes so worn out they were falling apart on her body, she never washed her underwear because it was “too expensive,” and she spent almost every day locked in the bank’s vaults eating raw onions and counting her riches. Had Hetty Green been a different kind of woman, those who saw her marching down Wall Street might have snickered. But Hetty’s reputation  was every bit as formidable as her scowling, forbidding face.

BORN CHEAP

Stinginess came naturally to Hetty’s family. Born in 1835 to a family of wealthy blue bloods, including a father who wanted his daughter to manage her fortune well, Hetty could read the daily financial papers to her dad at age six and opened her own savings account at age eight. By 21, she was so miserly she didn’t even want to light the birthday candles on her own cake because it would waste them. Eventually, the party guests convinced her to light them, but she blew them out immediately so she could return them to the grocery store for a refund.

SHE’S A RICH GIRL

This was the same birthday at which Hetty came into a multimillion-dollar trust. Almost a decade later, her father died and left her his vast estate. Hetty cleverly invested her money, increasing its value enormously. But she still wore secondhand clothes, took her meals in workingmen’s dives, saw doctors at free charity clinics, and lived in cheap boardinghouses to avoid paying property taxes.

ON THE DOTTED LINE

She was suspicious of the many suitors who courted her, believing they were all after her money. But at age 33, she agreed to marry businessman Edward Henry Green -after he agreed to sign a prenuptial agreement renouncing all rights to her money. Two children and a lot of angst later, Edward Green divorced her. When he died in 1902, Hetty Green moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, with her children and commuted daily to her bank in New York City.

POOR LITTLE RICH KIDS

Vowing to make her son Ned the richest man in the world, Hetty saved every cent she could. She gave up washing her clothes, never changed or washed her sheets, tried to evade paying bills, and went to bed at sundown to avoid burning candles. She never turned on the heat or used hot water.

But she refused to spend any money on her kids, either. When Ned broke his leg, she wouldn’t take him to a doctor, saying it was too pricey. His gangrenous leg later had to be amputated. She forced her daughter Sylvia to wear old clothes, too, and she wouldn’t let her date the “fortune hunters” Hetty believed were everywhere. When she finally let Sylvia marry, she forced the new husband to give up all rights to his wife’s fortune.

SHE’S A RICHER GIRL

Through it all, Hetty made one shrewd financial decision after another. She made terrific investments, owned thousands of plots of land, and had enough cash to make loans to major businesses -even New York City itself- extracting heavy interest on each loan.

But Hetty’s penny-pinching ways continued. She spent hours each day counting her money. Her habit of walking down to her bank each day in a ragged, black dress with a scowl on her face earned her the nickname “the Witch of Wall Street.”

THE DECLINE OF HETTY

Eventually, Hetty’s health failed. She suffered from a painful hernia but refused to have an operation because it cost $150 (123 euros). She became even more paranoid and suspicious, believing kidnappers and murderers were after her and her fortune.

Eventually, her bad temper was the end of her. She reportedly died of apoplexy, in 1916, after an argument with a servant (not one of her own, of course).

GIVING AWAY THE GREEN STUFF

Hetty Green left $100 million to her children, who, ironically, became some of the most generous philanthropists of their time, donating money to numerous museums, libraries, and civic institutions. Hetty Green would have been horrified to hear it.

___________________

The article above was reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.

If you like Neatorama, you’ll love the Bathroom Reader Institute’s books – go ahead and check ‘em out!

 
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Clamshell Scrip from the Great Depression

Posted by Minnesotastan in Money & Finance on March 6, 2011 at 1:37 pm

This specimen comes from the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.

When the Depression and resulting banking crisis hit their community, the residents of the coastal town of Pismo Beach, California picked an unusual but logical medium of exchange… The Chamber of Commerce and no fewer than eleven merchants issued clamshell scrip.

Each piece was numbered, and each piece was signed on the front and on the back. As with the stamp notes of the Midwest, it was necessary to sign each clamshell on the back in order to keep it in circulation. No formal requirements may have existed, but informal pressure certainly would have endorsed the practice.

Restwell Cabins issued “notes” in three denominations: twenty-five cents, fifty cents, and one dollar. The larger the amount, the larger the shell. The issue may have been partly intended as a spoof, or for sale to tourists, in the manner of German notgeld around 1920. Redemption would never be a problem because collectors would want to keep these pieces in their cabinets or trade them with their friends.

Link.

 
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Money Perfume For The Stinking Rich

Posted by Alex in Fashion on January 20, 2011 at 12:20 am

Patrick McCarthy, a Microsoft VP of Sales, took the proverb "Dress for Success" to its logical extreme that in order to get money, you should smell like money.

Here’s the perfume that will make you smell like a million bucks (literally):

"I really feel that people who wear this will feel more confident," McCarthy told AOL News. "I got the idea after reading a story about a Japanese study that showed a significant increase in worker productivity when the smell of money was pumped through vents into factories."

And when McCarthy went to his ATM and noticed how much he enjoyed the scent of fresh, crisp bills, he really smelled the potential for making a mint.

"[The odor of money] is a unique fragrance," he said.

David Moye of AOL Weird News has more: Link

 
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The New $100 Bill

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance on January 6, 2011 at 2:06 pm

The newly redesigned US $100 bill is more colorful than any US currency you’ve seen. There a lot of new security features to impede counterfeiting, including a blue ribbon embedded in the front with a watermark, a color-shifting bell, raised printing, tiny printed words in tiny spots, and more. Note: actual bills will not have a “specimen” watermark as this picture has. Take a tour of the differences at NewMoney, a government website devoted to US currency. Link -via J-Walk Blog

 
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Funny Tin Banks

Posted by Alex in Home & Garden on November 14, 2010 at 2:10 pm


Funny Tin Banks – $7.95

It’s always good to save some money, even though the things you want to buy with it are um, shall we say, a bit dubious. Here are some funny tin banks from the Neatoshop that will help you save some serious coins: Link

 
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The Price of Happiness: $75,000

Posted by Alex in Money & Finance on September 11, 2010 at 11:52 am

Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness turned out to be flat wrong. Researchers have now proven that indeed money *can* buy happiness … up to a point.

In the study, researchers tried to evaluate the effect of money in two ways: One was on how people think about their lives and the other was on the feelings they have as they experience life. Responses from more than 450,000 Americans, gathered in 2008 and 2009, were evaluated.

The study found that people’s evaluations of their lives improved steadily with annual income. But the quality of their everyday experiences — their feelings — did not improve above an income of $75,000 a year. As income decreased from $75,000, people reported decreasing happiness and increasing sadness, as well as stress. The study found that being divorced, being sick and other painful experiences have worse effects on a poor person than on a wealthier one.

"More money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain," the authors wrote. "Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals’ ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure."

Link

 
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Dollar ReDe$ign Project

Posted by Alex in Art, Money & Finance, Pictures on August 27, 2010 at 1:56 am

Tired of the drab ol' greenback? I mean what self-respecting artist would limit him or herself to just hues of green? Why not re-design the banknotes and drag them kicking and screaming to the 21st century?

Richard Smith noted that when corporations get in trouble, they rebrand their image. So, the solution to America's economic doldroms is obviously to rebrand the buck:

WHY TAKE PART?

The American Dollar has not truly been redesigned since about the 1930s. The Dollar ReDe$ign Project is your opportunity to theoretically 'change' that. Yes, technically there are many limitations and complications when it comes to bank note design, but if the Swiss can do it on a regular basis, why can't we North Americans too. Besides our great 'rival', the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to rebrand and redesign. Why not ? It seems to work for everyone else ...

Here are a few examples:


iMoney by Raffael Hannemann

“My intention? There has to be a full-colored US flag on every bank note, and there have to be faces of some of the latest idols on them. Let's stop looking backwards and focus on the future. This is the time where we live. I've chosen Steve Jobs, but why not Zuckerberg, Larry Page or Michael Jackson?

The main aspect to me is the following: yes, we could choose a very stylish, fresh looking Dollar note draft, just because it's a pleasure to our eyes at the moment we see the bank note draft for the first time. But often the print designs are far away from being timeless. I've created a long-lasting composition of colors and shapes that avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated by focusing on the value of the note itself and the colors of the US flag. Because this is what the Dollar note all is about.”


Relative Value by Dowling Duncan

Why the size? – We have kept the width the same as the existing dollars. However we have changed the size of the note so that the one dollar is shorter and the 100 dollar is the longest. When stacked on top of each other it is easy to see how much money you have. It also makes it easier for the visually impaired to distinguish between notes.

Why a vertical format? – When we researched how notes are used we realized people tend to handle and deal with money vertically rather than horizontally. You tend to hold a wallet or purse vertically when searching for notes. The majority of people hand over notes vertically when making purchases. All machines accept notes vertically. Therefore a vertical note makes more sense.


Girl Power by Magen Farrar

"Despite representing half the human population, women have been struggling with discrimination and suppression for far too long. I wanted to take this opportunity to commemorate some of the most influential American women of the 20th century – Amelia Earhart, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Marilyn Monroe and Maya Angelou – and attempt to bridge the gap between gender inequality. What better way to do so than with one of the most identifiable currencies in the world?"

Link: Dollar ReDe$ign - via kottke

 
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Stacks of Money or Wooden Sculpture?

Posted by Alex in Art, Money & Finance, Pictures on August 25, 2010 at 3:15 pm

You’d be forgiven if you think that’s a stack of cash. Actually it’s a realistic wooden sculpture called "Lunch Money" by Randall Rosenthal. His art exhibition seems like a lot of fun:

Carving a piece of wood into a bunch of newspapers, or books is hard enough, but using trompe l’oeil painting techniques, Randall Rosenthal manages to make his works look just like the real thing. Trying to keep his audience guessing, he normally just allows just one of his sculptures to be touched, while leaving them to discover if the rest are also made of wood.

His “Lunch Money” sculpture, representing stacks of hundred dollar bills in a corrugated cardboard box took six weeks to carve and another six to finish painting. To get their hands on that kind of wooden cash, art lovers had to pay $25,000, the real kind.

Oddity Central has more: Link | Randall’s official website

 
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Geeky Money by Silvia Saavedra

Posted by Alex in Film, Money & Finance, Pictures on August 17, 2010 at 11:37 pm

Silvia Saavedra of Arkaitse Freak Place altered the Chilean pesos and photoshopped them into portraits of Star Wars and other geeky characters (she called them her Geeky money) I particular like this one above, where Chilean founding father Manuel Rodriguez (noticed the Jolly Rogers in his lapel) is modded into a Rebel Pilot.

More Star Wars and other geeky money: more …

 
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Why Doesn’t Money Make Us Happy?

Posted by Alex in Money & Finance on July 30, 2010 at 4:56 pm

Are you unhappy? Maybe it’s because of all that money you have. Jonah Lehrer of Wired’s The Frontal Cortex blog explains:

Once we escape the trap of poverty, levels of wealth have an extremely modest impact on levels of happiness, especially in developed countries. Even worse, it appears that the richest nation in history – 21st century America – is slowly getting less pleased with life. (Or as the economists behind this recent analysis concluded: “In the United States, the [psychological] well-being of successive birth-cohorts has gradually fallen through time.”)

Needless to say, this data contradicts one of the central assumptions of modern society, which is that more money equals more pleasure. That’s why we work hard, fret about the stock market and save up for that expensive dinner/watch/phone/car/condo. We’ve been led to believe that dollars are delight in a fungible form.

But the statistical disconnect between money and happiness raises a fascinating question: Why doesn’t money make us happy? One intriguing answer comes from a new study by psychologists at the University of Liege, published in Psychological Science. [...]

The Liege psychologists propose that, because money allows us to enjoy the best things in life – we can stay at expensive hotels and eat exquisite sushi and buy the nicest gadgets – we actually decrease our ability to enjoy the mundane joys of everyday life. (Their list of such pleasures includes ”sunny days, cold beers, and chocolate bars”.) And since most of our joys are mundane – we can’t sleep at the Ritz every night – our ability to splurge actually backfires. We try to treat ourselves, but we end up spoiling ourselves.

Link – via Andrew Sullivan’s The Daily Dish

The solution, of course, is simple: get rid of your money by shopping in the NeatoShop

 
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Real-Life Money Tree

Posted by Alex in Advertising, Money & Finance, Pictures, Travel on July 22, 2010 at 12:34 am


Photo: RaboDirect Australia [Flickr]

Money doesn't grow on trees. Or does it? As a publicity stunt, RaboDirect of Australia sponsored a stunt where a tree in a park in Sydney is festooned with real $5 bills:

An Overview of Responses:

Lost Opportunity
In the early stages, almost 100 people passed the tree without noticing that anything was different. Even when a group of joggers noticed, they were too busy to stop. The first groups who eventually stopped to interact couldn’t believe it. They inspected the notes and took pictures, but left empty handed.

Follow the Crowd
Only once one brave participant started taking the money, did momentum gather. Legitimised by the crowd, a wide spectrum of behaviour ensued.

Frugality
Some took just one or two notes, satisfied by their modest and unexpected gains.

Opportunist
Consumed by the fantasy, a group of braver participants made the most of the opportunity by filling their pockets.

Employing Tools and Working Together
When the low hanging $5 notes were depleted, participants employed tools such as swinging coats and umbrellas, to help them reach higher branches. Teamwork also came into play as spectators formed human pyramids to reach the notes seemingly out of reach.

Altruism
Perhaps the most comforting observation from the participants was that of altruism. Taller participants shared their earnings with shorter spectators, while one gentleman on identifying the undercover observation team, requested his money be donated to charity.

Link [with video clip] - via Marketing Alternatif

 
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Handmade Money

Posted by Alex in Art, Money & Finance on July 17, 2010 at 11:08 am


Handmade by Xavi García

There’s more to the painting above than meets the eye. The unassuming painting by art student Xavi García is drawn entirely by hand and employs security measures commonly found in banknotes such as watermarks, see-through elements, and even UV-responsive ink.

Link – via Ministry of Type

 
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Money Laundering in Zimbabwe

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance on July 7, 2010 at 8:53 am

In some places, US bank notes are considered filthy lucre. So filthy, in fact, that they have to be washed. This isn’t what you normally think of when you think of money laundering. This is actual washing-machine laundry in Zimbabwe! Since Zimbabwe dollars are near-worthless, American dollars are preferred, and they change hands a lot.

Low-denomination U.S bank notes change hands until they fall apart here in Africa, and the bills are routinely carried in underwear and shoes through crime-ridden slums.

Some have become almost too smelly to handle, so Zimbabweans have taken to putting their $1 bills through the spin cycle and hanging them up to dry with clothes pins alongside sheets and items of clothing.

It’s the best solution—apart from rubber gloves or disinfectant wipes—in a continent where the U.S. dollar has long been the currency of choice and where the lifespan of a dollar far exceeds what the U.S. Federal Reserve intends.

The recommended method is hand washing, but washing machines are also used. Those who know say chemical dry cleaning will cause the ink to fade. Link -via Arbroath

(Image credit: AP/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

 
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Money Yummy Pocket

Posted by Alex in Fashion on June 23, 2010 at 7:04 pm


Yummy Pockets - Money $4.95

What beter way to store all of your Benjamins in this Money Yummy Pocket, shaped just like one? Well, if you're not filthy rich, the zippered pocket purse screenprinted with the likeness of the $100 bill can still store things like coins, pencils and so on.

Best of all, at just $4.95, it doesn't cost a lot of moolah! Link

More Yummy Pockets and other neat Wallet & Coin Purses from the NeatoShop:


Yummy Pocket Hot Dog

 
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Google Pac-Man Costs $120,483,800 in Productivity

Posted by Queuebot in Blogs & Internet, Money & Finance, Toys on May 25, 2010 at 8:18 pm

Google’s celebration of Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary was fun, enabling people to play Pac-Man on their main search page, either as a one- or two-player game. And people certainly took advantage of the opportunity, spending approximately 4,819,352 hours on the game alone. The result is approximately $120 million in productivity lost, in one day.

Thankfully, Google tossed out the logo with pretty low “perceived affordance” – they put an “insert coin” button next to the search button, but I imagine most users missed that. In fact, I’d wager that 75% of the people who saw the logo had no idea that you could actually play it. Which the world should be thankful for.

Link – via gizmodo

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by nmiller.

 
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The Net Worth of the U.S. Presidents

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance on May 24, 2010 at 6:05 am

Children think that the president of the United States is a rich man by definition because he has an extremely prestigious and important job. Of course, “rich” is a relative term. The Atlantic looks at the wealth of all 43 men who have held the office, adjusted to the current value of the dollar.

We analyzed presidential finances based on historical sources. Most media evaluations of the net worth of presidents have come up with a very wide range, a spread in which the highest figure was often several times the lowest estimate. Most sources provided no hard figures at all. Most of these efforts have focused largely on the analysis of recent chief executives. That is because it is much easier to calculate figures in a world where assets and incomes are a matter of public record.

One of the most important conclusions of this analysis is that the presidency has little to do with wealth. Several brought huge net worths to the job. Many lost most of their fortunes after leaving office. Some never had any money at all.

Link -via TYWKIWDBI

 
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Cash Can Bring Relief From Pain. Literally.

Posted by Alex in Health, Money & Finance on April 25, 2010 at 11:43 am

Are you in pain? Forget aspirin – grab some money instead! Money may not buy you love or happiness, but apparently it can bring relief from pain.

In a series of experiments, people who counted money felt less pain when their hands were dipped into scalding water. The soothing power of cash also helped them shrug off the emotional pain of social exclusion.

The findings might offer an easy way to ease life’s stings and hurts, from painful medical treatments to social ostracism: Simply flip through a bulging wallet before enduring a painful experience.

"When people are reminded of money in a subtle manner by counting out hard currency, they experience painful situations as being not very painful," said lead author Kathleen Vohs, a consumer psychologist at the University of Minnesota’s Carleton School of Management in the Twin Cities.

Link

 
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New $100 Bill Looks Like Something Straight Out of Hogwarts

Posted by Alex in Money & Finance, Pictures on April 21, 2010 at 12:23 pm

The familiar pictures of Founding Father Ben Franklin is still there, but there are a lot of new high-tech features being put in the new $100 bill, including a moving microprint that "looks like something straight out of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry":

The blue 3-D Security Ribbon on the front of the new $100 note contains images of bells and 100s that move and change from one to the other as you tilt the note. The Bell in the Inkwell on the front of the note is another new security feature. The bell changes color from copper to green when the note is tilted, an effect that makes it seem to appear and disappear within the copper inkwell.

“The new security features announced today come after more than a decade of research and development to protect our currency from counterfeiting. To ensure a seamless introduction of the new $100 note into the financial system, we will continue global public education of retailers, financial institutions and industry organizations to ensure that consumers and merchants are aware of the new security features,” said Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios. (Source)

Why the redesign? While security and protection against forgery is always a concern for any currency, the failure of the US Government to stem the rise of the Superdollar – a counterfeit so well done that it’s almost impossible to detect – is to blame.

 
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From Riches To Rags: 10 Celebrities Who Went Broke

Posted by Queuebot in Everything Else on March 23, 2010 at 10:45 am

Making a lot of money doesn’t mean it will last. I guess some people just can’t handle the big bucks when they are famous. Boxer Mike Tyson is one of the many.

Tyson had earned over $300 million during his career as a boxer but jewelry, mansions, cars, limousines, cellphones, parties, clothing, motorcycles and Siberian tigers eventually caught up to him. In 2003 he had to file for bankruptcy, thanks to a colourful variety of debts including $13.4 million to the IRS and a $9 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife, Monica Turner. From 1995 to 1997, he spent $9 million in legal fees, $230,000 on pagers and cellphones, and $410,000 on a birthday party. In June 2002, he owed $8,100 to care for his tigers and $65,000 for limos.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Nightcrawlerx.

 
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Unemployed Man Giving Away $10 Every Day

Posted by Miss Cellania in Blogs & Internet, Money & Finance on March 22, 2010 at 1:21 pm

Reed Sandridge lost his job last year and took up a new hobby. He gives away $10 every day to someone who looks as if they could use it, a different person every day. And Sandridge expects nothing in return but a good feeling.

His mom, the daughter of a coal miner whom he remembers most for her kindness, always told him that when you’re going through tough times, that’s when you most need to give back.

So not long after he was laid off, on the third anniversary of his mom’s death, he started his “year of giving,” documenting each $10 gift in a small black notebook and then blogging about the people he meets. By Day 94, he had given away almost $1,000, handing out money in blizzards, in rainstorms, on the sunniest of days.

Sandridge is using his savings and his unemployment benefits for the giveaways. Some of the folks he gives money to use it to help others. He tells stories of the people he meets in his blog, which has led others to help them out as well. Link to story. Link to blog. -via Digg

(image credit: Katherine Frey/the Washington Post)

 
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The Almighty Dollar: Distribution of Income by Religion

Posted by Queuebot in Money & Finance, Religion on February 25, 2010 at 6:36 pm


Infographic: GOOD Magazine and Column Five

Does believing in God help make you wealthy? If so, can a particular religion make you wealthier than others? GOOD Magazine in collaboration with Column Five takes a look at America’s wealthiest religions:

It’s no secret that the distribution of wealth is inequitable in the United States across racial, regional, and socio-economic groups. But there is a distinct variance among and within America’s faiths as well. This transparency takes a look at the income levels of America’s major religious groups, as compared to the average U.S. income distribution.

Apparently, it’s good to be Hindu (43% earning more than $100,000) and Jewish (46%).

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by jadalan.

 
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Money Can’t Buy Happiness, So Man Gives Away Every Penny of His £3 Million Fortune

Posted by Alex in Money & Finance on February 10, 2010 at 2:05 am

Karl Rabeder grew up poor and thought that life would be wonderful if he had money. But when he got rich, Karl discovered that he was unhappy … so he decided to give away every penny of his £3 million fortune:

"My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Money is counterproductive – it prevents happiness to come."

Instead, he will move out of his luxury Alpine retreat into a small wooden hut in the mountains or a simple bedsit in Innsbruck.

His entire proceeds are going to charities he set up in Central and Latin America, but he will not even take a salary from these.

"For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness," he said. "I come from a very poor family where the rules were to work more to achieve more material things, and I applied this for many years," said Mr Rabeder.

But over time, he had another, conflicting feeling.

"More and more I heard the words: ‘Stop what you are doing now – all this luxury and consumerism – and start your real life’," he said. "I had the feeling I was working as a slave for things that I did not wish for or need. I have the feeling that there are lot of people doing the same thing."

Link

 
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10 Unbelievable Inheritance Stories

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance on February 3, 2010 at 12:13 pm

At one time or another, almost everyone dreams about receiving an unexpected inheritance. Maybe you share DNA with a rich person you didn’t know about. Maybe an ex has forgiven you for whatever reason you broke up. Maybe a relative has more money to leave than you know of. Or maybe some rich person will pick your name from a phone book and make you a beneficiary. Yeah, right, but… all those things have happened! Shown is former waitress Cara Wood, who received a half-million dollars when a regular customer died. Link -via Look at This

 
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Funny Money: Unusual and Fascinating Currency

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance on February 1, 2010 at 2:04 pm

Dark Roasted Blend takes a look at artful and unusual bank notes from around the world, past and present. You thought Zimbabwe’s inflation was outrageous when they issued the 100 billion dollar notes? Now they have 100 trillion dollar notes! That kind of hyperinflation is not new, as you’ll see in this post. Link

 
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5 Treasures Found Amid Trash

Posted by Queuebot in Everything Else on January 28, 2010 at 11:57 am

People go to garage sales and estate sales all the time.  Some get really lucky.  Here’s a few stories of people who had something they thought was worthless but turned out to be worth millions of dollars.

A British farmer lost a hammer in one of his fields one day. Rather than going to spend a few bucks to just buy a new one, the man borrowed a metal detector and set out to find his hammer. Instead, he found something much more valuable. What he unearthed was a cache of Roman Empire era artifacts. To be exact, 15,000 coins of various metals, including gold, as well as jewelry and statues were all uncovered.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by sish2000.

 
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Large-Denomination US Currency

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance on January 12, 2010 at 1:34 pm

Once, the United States issued $5,000, $10,000, and even $100,000 bills. Why on earth would someone carry bills that big, especially back when they were really worth something?

Believe it or not, it wasn’t just to save space in fatcats’ wallets. When the Treasury started printing these giant bills, their main purpose was making transfer payments between banks and other financial institutions. Before sophisticated wire transfer systems were fully developed, it was apparently easier and safer just to fork over a $5,000 bill to settle up with a fellow bank. Once transfer technology became safer and more secure, there really wasn’t much need for the big bills anymore.

Mental_floss has the story on when and why such large bills were issued, what they looked like, and why they aren’t in circulation anymore. Link

 
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The American Economy Rap

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance, Video Clips on January 12, 2010 at 12:38 pm


(YouTube link)

Misery loves company, so this should make you feel as if you aren’t alone. -via the Presurfer

 
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45 of the Weirdest College Scholarships

Posted by Queuebot in Everything Else on December 28, 2009 at 11:07 pm

I love that the only way you can qualify for the Van Valkenburg Memorial Scholarship – is if you’re a direct descendant by birth or adoption. Why even have the scholarship? Other scholarships may be easier to qualify for -IF you know about the opportunity! Here are a few examples:

9. Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest – If you love ducks season you may be eligible for $2,000 in scholarships. So get your favorite duck call and get prepared to win some money!

12. The Billy Barty Foundation – This scholarship is awarded to students who are short in stature – under 4’ 10” – and have proof of dwarfism.

33. Carnegie Mellon University Bagpipe Scholarship – This highly uncompetitive scholarship offers $7,000 yearly to bagpipe major students.

Link

(image credit: Flickr user heather)

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by ari.

 
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A Currency is “Reevaluated”

Posted by Minnesotastan in Money & Finance on December 2, 2009 at 10:37 pm

Economic activity inside North Korea has reportedly ground to a halt following a government announcement that it is devaluing its currency at a rate of 100:1.

There were reports of public outrage and confusion after the announcement of the measure, which requires North Koreans to swap existing won notes for new ones at an exchange rate of one to 100 — effectively knocking two zeroes off their value. Because of a cap of 100,000 won per family (£475 at the official exchange rate), anyone with significant holdings of cash will have their savings wiped out.

The move is seen as an effort to quash small businesses and private enterprises which have proliferated in the unofficial economy.  As many as 30,000 vendors are believed to operate in a market outside the capital, Pyongyang, and many of them had accumulated substantial cash reserves.  This move effectively confiscates that cash.

Analysts do not foresee any direct economic repercussions outside the country, but it does serve as a reminder that many other world currencies are, like the North Korean won, “fiat money

Links at the Times Online, Wall Street Journal, and EconomistPhoto credit.

 
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Money is the Root of All Evil T-Shirt

Posted by Alex in Money & Finance, Pictures on October 30, 2009 at 3:51 pm


Money is the Root of All Evil – $11.95

You’ve heard the common saying "Money is the root of all evil," and now it’s been conclusively proven with mathematical precision. From the Neatorama Shop: Link | More Geektastic Science T-Shirts

 
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