Ruminations

Blog dedicated primarily to randomly selected news items; comments reflecting personal perceptions

Monday, May 14, 2018

Living an Exemplary Life, Planning a Philanthropic Legacy

"She was a secretary in an era when they ran their boss's lives, including their personal investments. So when the boss would buy a stock, she would make the purchase for him, and then buy the same stock for herself, but in a smaller amount because she was on a secretary's salary."
"I realized she had millions [as executor of the estate] and she had never mentioned a word. I don't think she thought it was anybody's business but her own."
Jane Lockshin, niece of Sylvia Bloom, deceased resident of New York City

"We were all agape, just blown away."
"[Sylvia Bloom's gift is] the epitome of selflessness."
"She had that dual perspective [background of poverty, but investment savvy allowing her to gain from exposure to knowledgeable investment practices], and it's probably why it resonated so deeply in her heart and her gut."
David Garza, executive director, Henry Street Settlement, Lower East Side

"She never talked money and she didn't live the high life. She wasn't showy and didn't want to call attention to herself."
"She was a child of the Depression and she knew what it was like not to have money. She had great empathy for other people who were needy and wanted everybody to have a fair shake."
Paul Hyams, human resources executive, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamiltion 
Sylvia Bloom quietly amassed a fortune of $9 million working as a legal secretary in New York City (Jane Lockshin)
Sylvia Bloom, the child of Eastern European immigrants to America was steeped in a background of necessity, hard work and empathy for the plight of others. Few would have suspected that this quiet, reliable secretary aspired to build a bank account whose total would have amazed anyone. She worked for the same firm of lawyers for 67 years, starting when the company was just established and she was their sole employee, to the point where they had a reputation to reckon with on Wall Street, with over 1,200 lawyers and hundreds of staff.

None was senior to her, and she retired only when she reached the age of 96. After retirement she appeared to have less to live for; her husband predeceased her by 14 years. The couple, he as a city firefighter then a schoolteacher and a practising pharmacist as well, lived on fairly modest salaries; his and hers as a secretary. It was obviously enough to keep them satisfied with their lives. Her relatives had no idea that she possessed a bank account whose total value was $9-million.

It was only when her niece Jane Lockshin, as executor of her aunt's estate, discovered the wealth that her aunt held did it become clear that the couple who lived modestly but well, had the wherewithal if they so wished to live in luxury. That wealth enabled Sylvia Bloom, however, to will $6.24-million to a social service group that her niece just incidentally acted as treasurer of the board for. While directing the bulk of her savings from shrewd investments to the charity, she also took care to leave funds for relatives and friends.
Sylvia Bloom worked at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York City for 67 years, and during that time she invested in the same stocks as the lawyers she worked for. (Submitted by Jane Lockshin)

Growing up during the Great Depression, Bloom attended public schools and then Hunter College where she earned a degree at night while working days. Hunter College, as it happens, turned out to be another beneficiary of Bloom's wealth, with $2-million split between it  and another scholarship fund. Her gift to the Henry Street Settlement has been earmarked for scholarships for needy students under the Settlement's Expanded Horizons College Success Program for disadvantaged students.

It must have given her great pleasure to know that she had amassed such a fortune. Not for herself, but with the knowledge that on her death, the funds representing her choice to make shrewd investments over the years, and putting away the profits would benefit many young people, giving them opportunities they would otherwise never have, through the funding that a hard-working visionary remembering her own difficult early years decided to invest in the lives of others.
$6.24 million of Sylvia Bloom's fortune is going to the Henry Street Settlement's Expanded Horizons College Success Program (Jane Lockshin)

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