Even the Rich, the Super Rich Knows Taste of Rejections and Denial: Heiress to Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Fortune Got Her Poems Rejected

Ruth Lilly had a lot of money. Before dying a few days ago, she did a lot of good with it too. But, the wealth did not shield her from rejections and denial. At least, her poems were continuously rejected by the editors of Poetry, an organization she was supporting.

It is better to ask instead of stealing. We all know this truth. Ruth did not stop appreciating poetry because her own poems were rejected. Instead, she tried to support the organization. And she gave money to countless other agencies. She a great human being who did a lot of good with her money. She was a great humanitarian.

Ruth Lilly will be greatly missed!

Lilly, the last surviving great-grandchild and heiress of Eli Lilly, was a noted philanthropist.

She gave away an estimated $800 million, which was her inheritance, giving away to many causes including colleges, hospitals, the National Easter Seals Society and a $100 million donation to the Chicago poetry association in 2002.

Her donation currently maintains daily radio poetry readings, a poetry professorship at Indiana University and prestigious annual awards.

Lilly’s inheritance came from her family’s pharmaceutical business, which began in 1876, Eli Lilly & Co.

Lilly, who always lived in extreme wealth, battled with depression for most of her life.

After spending years in a mental hospital and divorced her husband, her brother J.K. Lilly III put her fortune under guardianship.

In 1988 Prozac, the company’s most successful drug, came on the market and according to Lilly’s physician helped her with the depression.

Lilly is survived by five nieces and nephews, 14 great nieces and nephews and 10 great-great nieces and nephews.