Hetty Green was the richest woman you’ve never heard of. Here are...
Shane Parrish@shaneparrish
52 views
Oct 08, 2025
~2 min read
Advertisement
1
Hetty Green was the richest woman you’ve never heard of.
Here are 29 ideas I took away from this episode and my research you can use.
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. Operate in the dark. Keep your positions private.
18. Never practice usury, 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.”
(Listen now "Hetty Green on The Knowledge Project" or see links in comment below.)
Here are 29 ideas I took away from this episode and my research you can use.
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. Operate in the dark. Keep your positions private.
18. Never practice usury, 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.”
(Listen now "Hetty Green on The Knowledge Project" or see links in comment below.)
43:05
2
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/het…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6rrmyR…
Web/Transcript/Lessons and More: fs.blog/knowledge-proj…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6rrmyR…
Web/Transcript/Lessons and More: fs.blog/knowledge-proj…
