description Andrew Carnegie Overview
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-born American industrialist who built a major steel enterprise in the late nineteenth century through large-scale production, technological investment, and control of supplies and transportation. He sold Carnegie Steel to J. P. Morgan in 1901, helping form United States Steel.
Carnegie then devoted most of his fortune to philanthropy, funding public libraries, universities, research institutions, and foundations.
insights Ranking position
Andrew Carnegie ranks #4 of 170 in the Entrepreneur ranking, behind Warren Buffett, ahead of Phil Knight.
help Andrew Carnegie FAQ
How did Andrew Carnegie make his fortune?
Carnegie built an integrated steel business around mills, rail transport, raw materials, and efficient mass production. In 1901 he sold Carnegie Steel to J. P. Morgan, who incorporated it into the new United States Steel Corporation.
What was Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth?
In his 1889 essay The Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie argued that rich individuals should use surplus wealth for the public good during their lifetimes. He favored libraries, universities, and civic institutions over unrestricted inheritance.
How many libraries did Carnegie help fund?
Carnegie's philanthropy helped finance more than 2,500 library buildings around the world. Communities typically had to provide the site and commit public money to operating the library.
What was Carnegie's connection to the Homestead Strike?
The 1892 Homestead Strike occurred at a Carnegie Steel plant while Carnegie was in Scotland and Henry Clay Frick was managing operations. The violent conflict between locked-out workers and Pinkerton agents remains a major contradiction in Carnegie's reputation as a philanthropist.
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