Live a richer life

Grace Groner worked as a secretary for medical device giant Abbott Laboratories for 43 years. She lived in a tiny one-bedroom cottage, didn’t own a car and bought her clothes at rummage sales.

So when she passed away in 2010 at the age of 100 and left her estate to her alma mater, Lake Forest College in Illinois, the story made headlines. "Oh, my God," the school’s president said after finding out the amount, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Groner built her wealth using a very simple strategy. While she was working at Abbott in 1935, she decided to purchase three shares of the company. At the time, they were trading at around $60 each, for a total investment of $180 — a fair amount of money back then, but far from an extravagant investment.

She held on to those shares. When the stock split, she didn’t sell them. When the company paid dividends, she used the cash to buy more shares of Abbott.

Fast forward decades later and that small $180 investment had grown to more than $7 million.

The strategy for people who want to earn passive income from stocks is simple, but powerful: Find stocks that pay strong dividends, let them sit and reinvest the regular payouts.

Of course, not all dividend stocks are the same. Here’s a look at three companies with long track records of paying reliable — and increasing — dividends.