Chihuahua Receives 100K in Will from Wall Street Legend
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Muriel “Mickie” Siebert was a Wall Street genius, the first woman to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, a trail blazer for others. And an animal lover, who never married and never had children. Siebert passed away in August, at age 84, of cancer. She was survived by her sister and one other family member, her Chihuahua, Monster Girl. To insure proper care for her, she left $100,000 via her friend Lynda Fox-Frazer, who inherited the pet. To assist with any medical care, she bequeathed the Animal Medical Center $10,000 a month – well, that oughta cover it.
“I request that my dog not be left alone for long periods of time during the day,” Siebert wrote in her will, which was filed in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court this week.
She also left money to a few others, particularly her ailing sister. The Wall Street titan forged a new path for women in 1967 when she bought a NYSE seat for $445,000. Siebert left the bulk of her $48 million to her own nonprofit who’s mission is to teach people about financial literacy and “the humane support of animals,” the will said, especially animals “owned by the elderly who are financially challenged.”
This sounds okay perhaps at first glance….but I wonder out loud about the wide ranging mission – learning about finances has little to do with animal welfare. While I hope her organization succeeds, I wish she had left that little nest egg to an existing organization with infrastructure, such as the American Humane Association (with a mission to protect both children and animals) which would be far more effective.
In recent years, Siebert was never without her long-haired Chihuahua, Monster Girl, who even accompanied her owner into business meetings.
“No leash, no lease,” was apparently Siebert’s motto when she did business with buildings that didn’t permit animals inside.