University: Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University)

Started: 1949

Major: Took business classes (did not graduate)

Context: Often the only woman in her classes.

Reason for dropping out: In 1952, her father was diagnosed with cancer, and she left school to help her family.

Strategic move: Lied about having a college degree to secure her first Wall Street job.

Postgraduate Studies: None, but received 17 honorary doctorates, including one from Wagner College in 2010.

Marital Status: Single throughout her studies

Lived With: Her family in Cleveland, Ohio

Support to attend college: Supported by her family at first.

Reason for leaving college: Father’s illness.

Opposition: Not explicit, but later faced heavy resistance in Wall Street when nine men refused to sponsor her application to buy a NYSE seat.

Fun fact: She was a pioneer for women by moving alone to New York to pursue her dream — a bold move at that time.

Barrier: Nine men refused to sponsor her NYSE application.

Solution: The tenth person she asked finally agreed to sponsor her.

Barrier: Pay inequality and lack of women’s restrooms at the NYSE.

Key Supporters:

• Gerald Tsai, a friend who encouraged her to buy a NYSE seat.

• Chase Manhattan Bank, which loaned her $300,000 to complete the $445,000 purchase.

1977: Appointed the first female Superintendent of Banking for the State of New York.

Key result: During her tenure, no New York bank failed.

1982: Ran as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate (finished second out of three).

1990: Founded the Siebert Entrepreneurial Philanthropic Plan to encourage charitable donations through business transactions.