The Temple's Treasury · A Treasury Story
The Brooklyn Secretary Who Hid a $9 Million Fortune, Then Gave It Away
For sixty-seven years, Sylvia Bloom was just a secretary. Nobody knew she was a millionaire. This is what she did with what was placed in her hands, and the question it leaves for the rest of us.
Brooklyn, 1947
In 1947, Sylvia Bloom joined a brand-new Wall Street law firm, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, as a legal secretary. She earned a secretary's salary. She lived in a rent-controlled Brooklyn apartment. She rode the subway to work every day. By every visible measure, she was ordinary.
The snowstorm
At ninety-six years old, a coworker watched her climb out of the subway in a snowstorm, headed to work. “What are you doing here?” he asked. She answered, “Why, where should I be?” She retired that same year, at ninety-six, after sixty-seven years at the firm.
The secret
But Sylvia had a secret. In her era, secretaries ran their bosses' lives, including their personal investments. When her boss bought a stock, she placed the order for him, and then she bought the same stock for herself, in a smaller amount, on a secretary's salary. Same stocks. Smaller amounts. For decades. She never told a soul.
The reveal
She died in 2016, the same year she retired. Then the secret came out: more than nine million dollars. Her niece and executor, Jane Lockshin, put it simply: “I don't think she thought it was anybody's business but her own.”
The gift
Of that fortune, $6.24 million went to the Henry Street Settlement, funding scholarships for underprivileged students. It was the largest single gift in the organization's 125-year history. Another $2 million was split between Hunter College, her alma mater, and a second scholarship fund.
Why, where should I be?
Sylvia Bloom, 96, climbing out of the subway in a snowstorm, on her way to work
The Lesson
Sixty-seven years of discipline, then she gave it away. That's stewardship.
“Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much.” Luke 16:10
What this means for you
Sylvia Bloom's story is not really about nine million dollars. It is about direction. She never had a large income. She had a small income, handled faithfully, for a very long time. Then she pointed the whole thing at someone else's future.
Stewardship asks one question of all of us, whatever the amount: what has been placed in your hands, and what are you doing with it? The Private Stewardship Audit walks you through that question across every area of life, money included, so you can see what is clear, what needs attention, and where you may want support.
Begin with education, then choose whether to request a review.