Ninety-two-year-old Joan Payden, one of America’s wealthiest self-made women with an estimated net worth of $700 million, has been recognized by Forbes. Born in Derby, Connecticut in 1931, Payden spent her formative years in Indonesia. Upon returning to the US, she pursued a dual degree in mathematics and physics at Trinity College, graduating in 1953, a rare achievement for women in that era.
In the 1950s, she worked as one of the few women in engineering at a New Jersey-based company constructing oil refineries. However, a layoff became a pivotal moment in her career trajectory.
Subsequently, Payden shifted her focus to finance and later joined Merrill Lynch, despite admitting, “I was hired at a 25% discount because I didn’t know the difference between a bond and stock,” as she disclosed to the Los Angeles Times in 1999.
Her exceptional abilities soon attracted notice at Scudder, Stevens & Clark, an investment counseling firm, where she eventually became the first female partner, a significant milestone that paved the way for her founding of a personal firm.
At the age of 52 in 1983, Ms. Payden co-founded Payden & Rygel with Sandra Rygel, concentrating on fixed income and global markets. Reflecting on her early concerns, she shared with the Los Angeles Times, “There are always worries. When I set up the company, I worried I wouldn’t get clients. But that was no problem.”
Over the past four decades, the company has burgeoned into one of the nation’s largest private money managers, overseeing $162 billion in assets under management.
Despite her remarkable success, Payden remains modest and committed to philanthropy. Her generous donations have supported a variety of causes, including animal welfare and education, leaving a lasting impact on institutions such as Trinity College and universities in Los Angeles.
