Secret Millionaire Donates Fortune to Lake Forest College
Lake Forest Secret Millionaire donates her fortune to Alma Mater
The secret millionaire Grace Groner (aka Amazing Grace) lived modestly in a one-bedroom home, decorated with only a few plain pieces furniture and an antique television set. She rarely made any large purchases, bought her clothes from rummage sales and she walked everywhere rather than to buy a car. She could have lived in any house in Lake Forest, but she chose not to.
When Grace Groner passed away in January at the age of 100 she donated her fortune to Lake Forest College in Illinois, who were astonished to hear from William Marlatt, Grace’s attorney and longtime friend, that she had left a sum of $7 million dollar to her Alma Mater.
Grace Groner’s estate, worth seven million dollar, stemmed from a $180 purchase of specially issued Abbott Laboratories stock she made back in 1935. She never sold the shares, that split a number of times over seventy years, and Amazing Grace reinvested the dividends.
Her initial $180 stock purchase had become a fortune that she donated to Lake Forest College. The money is going into a foundation that will enable many students to pursue internships and study-abroad programs.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
What a wonderful lady. I hope her selfless generosity benefits many students.
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:38 am
How generous of her to leave such a large sum to her Alma Mater. We need people like that to introduce programs that can empower students and help them become well-rounded individuals.
June 13th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
I love stories about people who do random acts of kindness. I only there were more of them:)