Sylvia Bloom (above left) was a legal secretary at a New York law firm for 67 years. In 2016, she retired, but it wasn’t until she passed away that relatives discovered that she had amassed a fortune. Jane Lockshin (above right) says that when she found out her 96-year-old aunt had more than $9 million, she was shocked. “I knew she was comfortable and had enough money to live on, but I thought she had a few hundred thousand,” said Lockshin. How could a secretary accumulate that much money? It turns out that Bloom grew her wealth among three brokerage houses and 11 banks. While working at Clearly Gottlieb, she would balance her bosses checkbooks, so when they made a trade or an investment, she would secretly do the same — again and again. In her will, Bloom designated that some of her fortune was to go to friends and relatives, but the majority was to go toward scholarships for students in need. Lockshin recalled that her aunt went to college for a year, but then had to drop out to support herself and her family. She finally finished her college degree at night while working full-time. "She knew how important it was to get an education and that it was hard to get an education without money.” Lockshin said her aunt would be happy that her money is now going to help people get a good education.
