NEW YORK (JTA) — A Holocaust refugee turned Wall Street financial adviser was invited to mark her 100th birthday by ringing the bell next month at the New York Stock Exchange.
Irene Bergman, 99, is still working and would be one of the oldest people ever to open or close the trading day at the exchange, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
“It’s an honor that I never would have expected,” Bergman told Bloomberg. “It’s very important to me and I’ll tell you why: My father was vice president of the Berlin stock exchange and I’m sure he would be very happy.”
Bergman immigrated to the United States in 1942 after fleeing the Nazi-occupied Netherlands and, before that, Germany. An employee of Stralem & Co. since 1973, Bergman currently works out of her New York apartment.
In an interview last month with Bloomberg, she credited her longevity to good genes.
