In 1923, 4-year-old Russ Gremel moved into a new home with his family in the Jefferson Park area of Chicago. The street lamps had to be lit at night and people rode horses to go around town, but besides that Russ says not much else has changed on the quiet little street.

Now at the age of 98, Russ lives alone in that same street, in the very same house, eating his favorite foods of stew and oatmeal. Though he lives a simple life, Russ has a huge secret that he has hidden from his family and friends for 70 years.

Back when he was a young man Russ' brother advised him to invest money in a pharmacy because people will always need medicine and women will always buy makeup. So Russ took the advice and bought $1,000 worth of stock in a local Chicago pharmacy.

Now that pharmacy has grown into the huge national chain known as Walgreens and the 1000-dollar stock that Russ bought has soared to a massive $2 million in worth.

After all of these years no one in his family knew about the stocks that Russ was saving.

Then just a few years ago Russ finally decided what he wanted to do with it. Give back. With no wife or children to take care of, he has decided to give the money to the Illinois Audubon Society because of his love of nature.

As it turns out the organization had their eyes on a piece of property that they wanted to purchase and thanks to Russ' gift, they were now able to officially open the 400-acre refuge for wildlife.

It was dedicated in Russ' name.

Credit: NEWZZCAFE