Verna Oller, Secret Millionaire, Leaves $4.5 Million Fortune To Hometown Of Long Beach, Washington

Verna Oller was "feisty" and "frugal," according to ABC News. Frugal to the point where she never even went to a hairdresser. These methods and shrewd investments earned her millions of dollars by the time she died at age 98.

From ABC News:

The sturdy old lady with no formal education amassed a not-so-small fortune: $4.5 million. It was up over $5 million before the recession. Before she died, she directed Guy Glenn to spend every cent of it, but not on her, on her home town.

The town of Long Beach, Washington, will receive its very first swimming pool. Money will also be set aside for scholarships for students and grants for teachers.

Read the full story at ABC News.

WATCH:

Comments

[Cheryl A Wright]

07:25 AM on 08/06/2010

Verna Oller had family she is survived by her nephew Steve, the family knew about the gift to the school, but she kept the pool a secret till her death. She died June 10, 1010 and will be very missed by her family and friends. Her nephew could not be prouder of the way she lived and died on her terms the way she wanted and when she wanted. As for the comments of no mention of her family that is because thats the way she wanted it. Her last sister died in January 2010 so she was the last of her family other than her nephew.

[Kalila97]

02:56 PM on 06/15/2010

Couldn't she have paid for the first town pool a lot sooner?

[CatTheGadfly]

11:40 PM on 06/12/2010

Always impreses me when someone can keep his or her motuh shut about his or her wealth. Whatever the individual does with it. That seems to be what makes the news, actually -- the "surprise" factor.

[phoebie]

08:33 AM on 06/12/2010

Bless Verna and her frugal ways. Something similar happened in my hometown where two frugal farming brothers (our farm neighbors) left everything they had to a trust for the community. From that trust came school additions, park improvements, scholarships and a continued grant program for worthy area projects.

[nybirdcalls]

11:18 PM on 06/12/2010

Wonderful story (:

[steel71]

03:39 AM on 06/12/2010

45% of American households don't pay federal income tax. I'm sure about 70% of the posters on this site are part of that 45%. The 45% will continue to grow, once they're 51%, they can steal other 49% wealth. Of course, most of the rich and smart people are already moving out of the US, who wants a bunch crybaby thieves stealing from them. this country is gone, we got mega corporations ripping us off, and Marxist stealing from the rest...

[mtracy9]

06:29 AM on 06/12/2010

"There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war,

and we're winning." --Warren Buffett, CNN Interview, May 25 2005,

in arguing the need to raise taxes on the rich

[HeraSentMe]

08:44 AM on 06/12/2010

I'm so tired of lies like this. Social Security tax is the main federal tax working household pay, and it's the tax rich crybabies like you don't pay much, if at all. They also pay dozens of other federal taxes, directly or indirectly, just like the pay state and local taxes.

Tell you what, I'll be for a federal "flat" tax if ALL federal taxes are included in the mix, and not just the ONE federal tax rich people actually do pay more of (after their lawyers, accountants, tax shelters, offshore accounts, shell corporations, etc.) trim it to the bone.

[Bannister]

12:56 AM on 06/12/2010

The lady disposed of her estate the way she wished, What's wrong with that?

[themainpoint]

10:41 PM on 06/11/2010

Great Story.

[lhsouthern1988]

07:44 PM on 06/11/2010

If you have ever been to long beach, you will find that it truly deserved this bequest: it's only 2 hours west of where I live and it's been hurt hard by the economic downturns in logging. It's a great town with low crime and it's a blast to be during the kite festival and winter storms.

[justins79]

03:50 PM on 06/11/2010

Now there's a class act

[bajed]

02:51 PM on 06/11/2010

I guess that is one way to escape the Estate Tax.

[FZliveson]

06:55 PM on 06/11/2010

That's what life is all about then, bajed, escaping things?
I hope you are not that cold.

[bajed]

07:22 PM on 06/11/2010

I only concern myself with the two things that are certain life: Death and Taxes.

[Vurz]

07:55 AM on 06/12/2010

I think she was more interested in helping out the town she lived in.

[Norsky]

02:47 PM on 06/11/2010

Grandma!

[TheSpiderMind]

02:44 PM on 06/11/2010

What is the exact opposite of a Wall Street professional?

[AustinTxn]

02:31 PM on 06/11/2010

That's the kind of discipline people built up after going through the depression. I hope to be blessed to do the same in my lifetime.

[GravitonX]

01:20 PM on 06/11/2010

Sweet story. I guess if you have no family, what the hell.

[LMPE]

01:17 PM on 06/11/2010

Boy. Just imagine if Lloyd Blankfein had the decency to do what Verna Oller did!

[kkrimmer]

01:26 PM on 06/11/2010

Never thought I'd see Lloyd Blankfein and decency in the same sentence!