The Richest Woman in America (44 page)

Hetty and her dog. Fond of children and dogs, she fed her pets steak and said she liked them because they didn’t care how rich she was.
(Illustration Credit 1.12)

Hetty and her daughter. Taken at the time of her wedding, Sylvia Green was thirty-eight when she married Matthew Astor Wilks, a kindly clubman and member of the prominent Astor family.
(© Bettmann/Corbis)
(Illustration Credit 1.13)

Panic of 1907 in front of the Sub-Treasury. Wild speculation and heavy borrowing led to a steep rise in interest rates and a collapse of banks and businesses.
(Illustration Credit 1.14)

The 1907 run on the Lincoln Trust Co. When the bubble burst, people rushed to withdraw their money, but the banks ran out of funds and shut their doors.
(Illustration Credit 1.15)

Ned and Mabel. Hetty had called her “Miss Harlot,” and Ned Green waited until his mother died before marrying his longtime love Mabel Harlow.
(Illustration Credit 1.16)