By copying her bosses' investment decisions she secretly accumulated a significant fortune and donated the bulk of it—US$8.2 million—for scholarships for underprivileged students upon her death.

Bloom's story garnered widespread acclaim, shedding light on other unassuming individuals amassing substantial wealth and donating to local causes upon their death.

She grew up during the Great Depression, attended public schools, and worked days while studying at Hunter College at night to earn her degree.

[1][5] Her niece, however, described her aunt as leading a modest yet not deprived life: she toured Europe, frequented Las Vegas due to her husband's love for gambling, and wore smart, custom-made clothing to work.

[9][10][11][12] The Motley Fool's Selena Maranjian said that investing in broad-market index funds over time, even with an average income, can lead to significant wealth accumulation.

Mimicking her hard work and frugality is possible, but finding guaranteed low-cost housing, debt-free education, secure full-time jobs with benefits and pensions is much harder nowadays.

[5] C&M Inversores outlined a way to execute Bloom's coattail (copycat) investing without any need for insider information, using the fact that major US investors must publicly disclose their trades every three months.

[14] However, Bloom's coattail investing approach raises concerns about its legality, as at least one lawyer at her firm pleaded guilty to insider trading by misusing confidential client information.