Hetty Green

American investor who was the richest woman in America at her death in 1916 — earning the nickname 'Witch of Wall Street' — by investing in bonds and real estate with a value approach decades before Graham formalized value investing, while being legendarily frugal.

Demonstrated value investing principles before the term existed — buying distressed bonds and real estate at maximum fear, holding through recovery, and never speculating — while her legendary frugality (eating cold oatmeal, wearing the same dress for years) became the most extreme illustration of the gap between wealth and spending.