Helen Abbot

Helen Taylor Abbot, Alabama, didn't come from wealth nor marry into it. She didn't work at high-paying jobs. She was employed as a school teacher, a civil servant, and a naval reserve officer. But Helen was a saver — careful, if not frugal, with her expenses — and astute in investing in and acquiring real estate. With her ordinary income and a modest bequest from her father's estate, Helen amassed substantial net worth over her lifetime.

When Helen passed away in 2003 — a month shy of her 90th birthday — she left $1.6 million to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation for the establishment of the Marisol Scholarship. Named for Helen's beloved cottage in Mobile Bay, Alabama, which she called "Marisol"(derived from the Spanish words for "sea and sun"), the endowed scholarship covers up to 75% of the costs of an undergraduate's tuition, fees, books, and room and board for one year.