Anne Scheiber, a retired IRS auditor, was reported to have built a multimillion-dollar stock portfolio through company research, long holding periods and reinvested dividends. TIME reported in 1995 that she retired with $5,000 invested and died with a $22 million fortune. Those figures are not a verified performance record: later reporting describes a dispute over her investing reputation and uncertainty about the $5,000 starting amount.
Who was Anne Scheiber?
Scheiber worked as an IRS auditor and retired in 1943, earning $3,150 a year, according to TIME’s December 18, 1995 profile. The profile said she had $5,000 invested when she retired. Her work reviewing taxpayers’ assets reportedly gave her a close look at common stocks held by people who accumulated substantial estates, prompting her to study companies and markets with the care she applied to tax returns.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
TIME reported that Scheiber died in January 1995 with a fortune of about $22 million. It also said she left most of her estate to Yeshiva University to support scholarships and loans for women. The account is based on a 1995 magazine profile and remarks attributed to people who knew or advised her, rather than an independently audited portfolio history. TIME’s profile, “Death and the Maven”, is the central published account.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhat did her reported investing strategy involve?
Researching businesses, not just prices
TIME described Scheiber as a committed reader about companies and investing. She reportedly followed firms she considered promising and attended annual shareholder meetings. For movie studios, she even tracked movie attendance as one way to assess the businesses. Her lawyer, Benjamin Clark, praised her ability to study companies, but his claim that she was right “99% of the time, if not 100%” is a testimonial, not a measured win rate.
#1 Best Overall
Holding shares and reinvesting dividends
Her broker, William Fay, summarized the approach to TIME as: “don’t worry about daily market fluctuations; reinvest dividends; hang tough.” TIME said she owned shares in about 100 companies, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Schering-Plough, Universal and Paramount. It also reported that she received more than $200,000 a year in interest and dividend income by the early 1980s.
Her reported choices combined individual-company research with patience. That describes one historical investor; it does not show that the same method will produce comparable results for someone else. Nor does a count of about 100 holdings by itself establish how diversified the portfolio was by modern standards.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
Why Schering-Plough stands out in the account
TIME reported that Scheiber bought 1,000 Schering-Plough shares in 1950 for $10,000. By 1994, those shares had grown to 60,000, which the magazine valued at $4 million. This example shows how a major successful holding could contribute to a reported fortune. It is not evidence that all her investments performed similarly, or that the result was typical.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →How certain is the $5,000-to-$22 million story?
The figures are widely repeated, but they should be presented as reported estimates, not as a precise, established return calculation. A 2026 Yahoo Finance article from 24/7 Wall St. says Scheiber’s executor challenged claims about her investing prowess and questions the commonly cited starting amount. It also reports a separate estimate of roughly $21,000 in holdings by 1936, inferred from $900 in dividend income on a tax return. That figure is a secondhand inference, not a verified starting balance. The 2026 account itself cautions that the popular $5,000 starting figure deserves an asterisk.
Because the starting balance is contested and the sources provide no independently verified series of contributions, withdrawals or portfolio values, the headline figures do not support a reliable annualized-return calculation. Fay also told TIME that after World War II stocks rose sharply and that $5,000 could have increased fivefold in five years; that was his explanation of the era, not a documented account of Scheiber’s exact portfolio performance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What investors can—and cannot—take from her example
Scheiber’s reported habits offer a historical case study in patience and attention to businesses, not a ready-made investing formula. Her experience does not establish that an individual-stock portfolio is preferable to diversified funds, or that a handful of successful holdings can be identified in advance.
Rank #4
- Research takes time: Following individual companies and assessing their prospects requires sustained effort and carries the risk of getting an assessment wrong.
- Concentration can matter: The Schering-Plough example illustrates the effect one large winner may have in a personal account; it also underscores company-specific risk.
- Patience is not a guarantee: Long holding periods and dividend reinvestment can support compounding, but neither prevents losses nor ensures a similar result.
Her legacy was not only the reported size of her portfolio. TIME said most of her fortune went to Yeshiva University for women’s scholarships and loans, turning the accumulated wealth into support for education.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
