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*In Yiddish, someone who is thrifty is "shporvdik."
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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Maybe you've never heard of Anne Scheiber. She lived to 101 years of age and died in January of 1955.
For many years she lived in a "kleyn" (tiny), run-dwn, rent-controlled studio "dire" (apartment) in Manhattan. The paint on the walls was peeling,and the old bookcase that lined the walls was covered in "shtoyb" (dust). Her rent was $400 a month.
Scheiber lived on Social Security and a small monthly "pensie" (pension), which she started receiving in 1943 when she retired as an auditor for the IRS.
She hadn't done very well financially at the IRS. Despite having a law degree and doing excellent work, she never received a "hekherung" (promotion). When she retired at age 51, she was making only $3,150 a "yor" (year).
"She was treated very shabbily," said Benjamin Clark, who knew her as well as anyone did. "She had to fend for herself in every way. It was really a struggle."
Scheiber was a model of thrift. She didn't spend money on "zikh" (herself). She didn't buy new "mebl" (furniture), as the old pieces became worn out. She didn't even subscribe to a "tsaytung"(newspaper). About once a week she went to the public "bibliotek" (library) to read the Wall Street Journal.
Imagine "der khidesh" (the surprise) of Norman Lamm, the president of Yeshiva University in New York City, when he found out that Anne Scheiber, a little "alt" (old) woman whom he never heard of and who had never attended Yeshiva--left nearly her entire estate to the university.
When Lamm read "di tsavoe" (the will), it was mind blowing. Such an unexpected windfall. Scheiber left Yeshiva University $22 million. The money was to be used to establish scholarships for needy students there.
"Di frage" (The question): How in the world did a "farzesene moyd" (spinster) who had been retired for 50 years, build an eight-figure fortune?
Probably the biggest reason Anne Scheiber was able to amass such a substantial fortune was that she allowed the money to compound for half a century.
According to John C. Maxwell ("The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership"), "By the time she retired from the IRS in 1943, Anne Scheiber had managed to save $5,000. She invested that money in stocks. By 1950, she had made enough profit to buy 1,000 shares of Schering-Plough Corporation stock, then valued at $10,000. And she held on to that stock, letting its value build. Today, those original shares have split enough times to produce 18,000 shares, worth $7.5 million."
Maxwell continues, "The secret to Scheiber's success was that she spent most of her life building her worth. Whether her stock's value went "aroyf" (up) or "arop" (down), she never sold it off with the thought, 'I"m finished building; now it's time to cash out.'" When she earned dividends--which kept getting larger and larger--she reinvested them."
During her life she had no direct contact with the university. She had no close family and no friends. She had no projects and did no volunteer work.
In a New York Times piece (12/5/95) we are reminded of Ms. Scheiber's gift, as well as the story of Oseola McCarty, the 87-year- old Mississippi woman who earlier this year donated $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi. McCarty earned this money doing other people's laundry. After her death she endowed scholarships for needy black students.
Yes, both women lived simply, and cared nothing about possessions. Perhaps that explains why they gave their money for OPPORTUNITY, rather than plaques or buildings.
The Times concludes: "Besides money, both
women left us a lesson. We can touch the
future in many different ways. The childless
can leave their imprint on the young for
generations to come. The friendless can
transform a community. The quietest can
make a big noise."
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Marjorie Wolfe's two favorite Yiddish proverbs: "Az me shport nit dem groshen, hot men nit dem rubel." (If you don't save the penny, you'll not have the
dollar."
"Az men hot di matbai'eh, hot men di
dai'eh." (If you have the money, you say the
"say.")
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