Grace Groner

Grace Groner lived a frugal life in a one-bedroom home in north suburban Lake Forest.

But when she died at age 100 in January, her attorney informed Lake Forest College that Groner — known for buying clothes from rummage sales and walking instead of buying a car — had left her alma mater $7 million.

When the attorney told the school how much her donation would be, the college president said "Oh, my God."

The millions came from a $180 stock purchase Groner made in 1935. She bought specially-issued stock in Abbott Laboratories, where she worked as a secretary for 43 years, and never sold it, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The money Groner donated will be used for a foundation to fund student internships and study-abroad programs. The money should bring the school more than $300,000 a year.

[via chucks_angels]

***

Grace Groner was born in 1909 in rural Illinois. Orphaned at age 12 and never married, she began her career during the Great Depression. She became a secretary, lived in a small cottage, bought used clothes, and never owned a car.

When Groner died in 2010, those close to her were shocked to learn she was worth at least $7 million. Even more amazing, she made it all on her own. The country secretary bought $180 worth of stocks in the 1930s, never sold, and let it compound into a fortune. She left it all to charity.

Now meet Richard Fuscone. He attended Dartmouth and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago. Rising through the ranks of high finance, Fuscone became Executive Chairman of the Americas at Merrill Lynch. Crain's once included Fuscone in a "40 under 40" list of successful businesspeople. He retired in 2000 to "pursue personal, charitable interests." Former Merrill CEO David Komansky praised Fuscone's "business savvy, leadership skills, sound judgment and personal integrity."

But Fuscone filed for bankruptcy in 2010 -- the same year Groner's fortune was revealed -- fighting to prevent foreclosure of his 18,471-square-foot, 11-bathroom, two-pool, two-elevator, seven-car-garage New York mansion. This was after selling another home in Palm Beach following a separate foreclosure. "My background is in the financial-services industry and I have been personally devastated by the financial crisis," Fuscone's bankruptcy filing allegedly stated. "I currently have no income."

These stories fascinate me. There is no plausible scenario in which a 100-year-old country secretary could beat Tiger Woods at golf, or be better at brain surgery than a brain surgeon. But -- fairly often -- that same country secretary can out-finance a Wall Street titan. Money is strange like that.

... basic behavioral differences are what separate the Grace Groners from the Richard Fuscones. Groner clearly understood patience. She understood frugality. She understood the value of a long-term view and how to not panic -- if only subconsciously. Fuscone, it seems, didn't. (To be fair, it's unclear exactly where his financial troubles came from.)

The traits most important to mastering your finances aren't typically taught in finance courses. You're more likely to see them in a psychology class. They include things like patience, an even temper, being skeptical of salesmen, and avoiding over-optimism. A lot of people miss this because it's not intuitive. But I think it explains, better than anything else, why so many people are bad with their money. And it extends beyond novices. The majority of highly educated, well-trained investment professionals perform abysmally. This has little to do with their understanding of finance and lots to do with the inability to control their emotions and behaviors.