Kriti Mehrotra
The August 4, 1892, axe murders of Abby Gray and Andrew Borden inside their own home at 92 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, have officially always remained unsolved. However, as explored in Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,’ the titular individual was tried in connection with the matter owing to her tense relationship with the victims, but she was ultimately acquitted. One of the theories that has since emerged to make sense of this heinous double homicide is that they were likely targeted for their significant wealth, yet it remains pure speculation.
Andrew Borden Built His Affluence From the Ground Up
Although Andrew Borden was reportedly a descendant of an influential, prominent, and rich family known across New England, he grew up in a very average, modest environment. His distant cousins had generational wealth thanks to their textile mill empire, but he had to fight for every penny he made and thus understood the importance of money early in life. Therefore, according to records, he entered the workforce as soon as he was able, learned skills he knew would remain indispensable for a long time, and eventually evolved into a carpenter with his own business.
Andrew’s initial focus was on manufacturing cabinets, but he gradually expanded his operations to deal in all kinds of furniture before also getting into the production of caskets. He had recognized that the funeral market was not only lucrative but also had a lot of scope, plus it wasn’t uncommon for carpenters to juggle different domains, so he jumped at the opportunity. His craft enabled him to achieve indescribable success over the ensuing years, driving him to soon turn his life upside down by transforming most of his profits into investments.
Among the first things Andrew did was secure considerable real estate in the form of commercial properties and private residences for either additional rental income, personal use, or development. He then decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and became involved with several textile mills as an Owner-Director before also stepping into the world of banking/finance. He served as a Director at Durfee Safe Deposit & Trust Co. and briefly held the title of President at Union Savings Bank, which further enhanced his reputation in the community.
Andrew was undeniably one of the wealthiest men in his home state of Massachusetts by the early 1980s, yet he was also rather well known for being staggeringly frugal. He provided for his family, chose to reside in the affluent area of Fall River, and appropriately compensated his staff, but he refused to indulge in most of the comforts normal for the wealthy. He never got gas lights for his family home or house-wide indoor plumbing, and he also didn’t hire a property manager to look after his investments. Nevertheless, it all proved useful as he had amassed a net worth of $300,000 at the time of his death, which is equivalent to roughly $10.5 million as of mid-2026.
Lizzie Borden Lived a Quiet Life While Maintaining Her Wealth
Despite the fact that Lizzie was acquitted of her father and stepmother’s double axe homicide in 1893, she was ostracized by society and knew she could no longer live in the area she called home. Therefore, she and her elder sister, Emma Borden, relocated to a different part of town with the inheritance they received from Andrew’s estate before choosing to remain well away from the limelight. It has long been rumored that Lizzie later became a patron of the arts, yet there has never been any proof of the same since her only association with that world was actress Nance O’Neil. They were friends for a short while in the 1900s, and the sisters also soon grew estranged.
Lizzie died of pneumonia at the age of 66 on June 1, 1927, in Fall River, Massachusetts, which was 9 days before 76-year-old Emma passed away in a nursing home in Newmarket, New Hampshire. The sisters were both lifelong spinsters, so despite the traumas of their past as well as their estrangement, they were buried side by side in the Borden family plot at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River. According to records, Lizzie was worth over $250,000 at the time, meaning she had somehow managed to maintain a significant portion of her inheritance to lead a long, happy, comfortable life.
It’s imperative to note that $250,000 in 1927 is equivalent to roughly $6 million as of mid-2026, suggesting Lizzie was arguably among the richest women in the area at the time. As per records, she owned not only a Victorian home at the intersection of French Street and Belmont Street (which she named Maplecroft) but also utility service shares, several office buildings, a large amount of jewelry, and at least two cars. Most of her estate was later distributed among animal rescue shelters, friends, extended family members, and in a trust for the perpetual care of her father’s grave, as per her last will.
Read More: Was Lizzie Borden Gay? Did She and Bridget Sullivan, aka Maggie, End Up Together?
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