Florence Young died at the age of 97 a very wealthy woman. Since she was born into a rich family, she was forced to marry into another family of similar wealth. Her father used her as a pawn in one of his business deals and she ended up the wife to an indifferent, often harsh husband. Florence gave him eight sons, all ending up sharing many of his beliefs and sensibilities about business, life, and how they treated their own wives. When he died 37 years ago, he divided much of his fortune between his sons and left Florence with only a quarter of his money, which was still not inconsiderate. One of the first things she did was to officially go back to using her maiden name. The second was wisely invest her money in several companies that would end up giving her a fortune far greater than her late husbands. Much of her time was not spent on making money, but traveling and having fun, things she was unable to enjoy while married.

Florence kept a close watch on her family, particularly on her great and great great granddaughters. She wanted her heirs’ to be strong and independent, not unduly influenced their parents. So hiring several investigation firms, they were all assessed, and only those with the most moxie and are willing to take risks would be eligible to receive the majority of her fortune.

In the end, eleven out or several dozen were chosen by the time of her death, ranging from 19 to 38 years of age.