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Following a surprise $7 million donation left to Lake Forest College by 1931 alumnus and "secret millionaire" Grace Groner, many are wondering about the generous woman who lived so modestly in one of the richest Chicago suburbs.
Groner worked as a secretary at Abbott Laboratories for 43 years--where she made a $180 stock purchase in 1935, the Chicago Tribune reports. She reinvested the dividends over the years, and at the time of her death--at the age of 100--it was worth $7 million.
Groner's lawyer was one of the few people who knew about her fortune, the Tribune reports:
She lived in an apartment for many years before a friend willed her a tiny house in a part of town once reserved for the servants. Its single bedroom could barely accommodate a twin bed and dresser; its living room was undoubtedly smaller than many Lake Forest closets.