The Poor House for the Formerly Rich

Keenly aware that the formerly rich had no place to turn — and nowhere to find sympathy — when they lost their money, he argued that “the worthy habits and traditions of affluence and refinement deserve recognition and respect, and that people possessing them should not be allowed to live in penury.”

Freedman’s solution was to build an insurance policy for people like himself, a guarantee that, no matter what happened, his way of life would be preserved. In his will, he set aside $2.5 million — the equivalent of $29 million in today’s dollars — to build his last and greatest memorial: a retirement home for destitute former millionaires.

Once upon a time, a rich person built a poor house for formerly rich people so they wouldn’t have to feel poor if they lost all their money. It didn’t last.

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