Humble Man With No Car Or Furniture Shocks His Hometown By Leaving It A Multimillion-Dollar Inheritance

The residents of tiny Hinsdale, New Hampshire, got a surprise when they learned that one of their fellow residents bequeathed almost $4 million to the city in his will. Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the inheritance was the man who left it.

Geoffrey Holt, the benefactor, was mainly known to his neighbors as a humble man who managed a mobile home park. He was famous for his spartan lifestyle. Despite having amassed a small fortune during his lifetime, Holt's neighbors remember him wearing secondhand clothes and shopping at the local convenience store.

The trailer Holt occupied at the mobile home park he managed was said to be sparsely furnished, and he didn't own a TV or computer. Although he had spent some time as a driver's ed instructor, Holt didn't own a car. He preferred motoring back and forth to the convenience store on his bicycle or riding mower, which he often parked by the side of the road while he read the local paper.

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The Surprise Of A Lifetime For Hinsdale Residents

Holt died with a reputation as a humble, simple man who wanted very little out of life. So, Hinsdale residents got the shock of a lifetime when they found out he died with a multimillion-dollar fortune. Their surprise increased upon discovering that Holt's $3.8 million fortune was left to the town with instructions to improve four vital areas:

•  Education
• Health
• Culture
• Recreation

The city has just over 4,000 residents, which means it's likely they will all be positively impacted by Holt's generosity. Up to now, the town's claim to fame was having the nation's oldest continually operating post office.

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Where The Money Will Be Spent

The question of where and how to spend Holt's inheritance is at the forefront of the minds of many Hinsdale residents. Among the proposed ideas are civic improvement projects, such as upgrading the clock at the town hall or restoring some of Hinsdale's older buildings. Interested parties will be able to apply for grants via a trust fund run by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

One of the most intriguing proposals involves buying a new vote-counting machine and naming it in Holt's honor. He was also known throughout his hometown as someone who always exercised his voting rights and never missed an election.

How Holt Made His Money 

In addition to being a humble man who lived a simple lifestyle, Holt was dyslexic. Although the condition made it difficult for Holt to spell or write, it didn't harm his instincts as an investor. Holt is believed to have been an early investor in a mutual fund that specialized in communications.

This investment was made before the advent of cell phones and mobile technology. Considering the impact that both technologies have had on 21st-century life, it's not hard to see where that turned out to be a winner. Even as Holt's portfolio grew to be more valuable than he ever expected, he maintained his humble lifestyle.

Instead of showing off his wealth with fancy cars or big houses, Holt's big extravagance was his penchant for collecting model cars and train sets. If you plan carefully and live within your means, it is possible to start small and build a sizable fortune.   

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