Miser - Famous Misers in History

Famous Misers in History

• Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-born industrialist, was notoriously thrifty and was mocked as a miser but after the Homestead dispute he became a great philanthropist.

• The Collyer brothers of New York City were also hoarders and earned notoriety for living in a filthy, booby-trapped home.

• Ephraim Lópes Pereira d'Aguilar, 2nd Baron d'Aguilar was an eccentric Jewish Portuguese nobleman who lived a life of privation, while amassing a secret fortune.

• Hetty Green of New York City was considered the world's wealthiest woman in 1916, and was known as the "Witch of Wall Street".

• John Elwes (aka "Elwes the Miser"), was a noted British eccentric and miser, believed to be the inspiration for the character of "Ebenezer Scrooge" in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

• Joseph Nollekens was a Londoner generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century, but was also a notorious miser.

• Joel Trembulak was a fine US income banker, but was also a notorious miser.

• Michelangelo made a fortune from his painting but denied himself all comforts and slept with his boots on.

• Yossele the Holy Miser, a Polish Jew, is a famous miser of Jewish folklore.