Andrew Carnegie – One of the Wealthiest Businessmen of the 19th Century

Andrew Carnegie was a self-made tycoon and one of the wealthiest businessmen of the 19th century. Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland. When he came to America he worked serval jobs on the railroad. By 1889 he owned his own railroad company named Carnegie Steel. In 1901 he sold his company and open a university named Carnegie-Mellon University in 1904, most of the people that went there they study Philanthropic work.

In his early life he was a telegraph messenger. Hoping that it would lead him to getting promotions through the year. He went from telegraph messenger in 6 years. He has now become a superintendent. When he was doing this position and other ones he was learning about the business and the work side of the railroad. He took all of this information, and use it to make one of the best steel company's in his time period.

He started to make good choices by making good investments, so he stared to invest in oil. In 1865 he left the railroad and focused on other business interests, that included the Keystone Bridge Company. By the next decade he was one of the most well know steel company back in the day. His business name was Carnegie Steel Company they have revolutionized the steel production in the United States. He had plants all over the United States he made the process easier, faster and more productive. For all of the steps of the process he owed: Raw materials, ships and railroads for moving the goods, and even coal fields to fuel the steel furnaces.

When Carnegie sold his steel company to Titan. Then he devoted his life to philanthropy. One of his quote from his essay states The Gospel of wealth, in which he stated that the rich have a moral obligation to distribute their money in ways that promote the welfare and happiness of the common man. Andrew gave more than 350 million dollars, in which was most of his wealth. He had open 2,500 libraries around the globe, and then he donated over 7,600 organs to the churches worldwide. He had open Carnegie Hall that cost him 1.1 million dollars that is still open in New York since 1891.

His mother was really one of his major influence in his life. She lived with him until she died in 1886. The year after that when he was 51 years-old he married Louise Whitfield (1857-1947). They had one child and her name was Margaret (1897-1990). They All lived in Manhattan in a mansion, and spent all of their summer in Scotland, where They owed a castle that was called Skibo Castle, which had over 28,000 Acres that he also owned with the castle. Carnegie died when he was 83 on August 11,1919, at Shadowbrook, His estate in Lenox, Massachusetts, and he was buried at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in North Tarrytown, New York.Andrew Carnegie was born November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. He moved to the U.S. when he was 13. Him and his family settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He had worked his way up in life starting at the bottom with a good foundation. He had earned the title steel tycoon. He passed away on August 11, 1919 in Lenox, Massachusetts.

He had grown up with little education, but his family believed in a good education. This set him up for success later on in life by learning things that could benefit him. In 1848 he and his family moved to the U.S. in hopes of opportunity in the growing country which Carnegie did.

Once in America Carnegie went to work in a factory for $1.20 a week. The next year he managed to get a job as a telegraph messenger. His plan was to work his way up from the bottom. In the year 1851 he earned the title of telegraph operator. In 1853 he got a job with the Pennsylvania railroad. He was the assistant and telegrapher for one of the railroads top officials Thomas Scott.

While he was still with the railroad he was making investments wherever he thought there was money to be made. He would later quite the railroad in 1865 to oversee his other business full time. He started out with investments in oil and later in steel. Eventually most of his investments were in steel. Steel was in high demand for railroads, manufacturing, and for the construction of new structures. He started building mills throughout the county using the most modern techniques to make more steel faster.

Later his business tried to lower wages in hope to raise profit margins. The employees rejected this by refusing to work causing what was later known as the homestead act. The conflict became violent when guards were called in to stop the union. Even though Carnegie was not even there during the strike many blamed him for the actions of his managers.

Later in life Carnegie sold the business to the United States Steel Corporation for more than $200 million. At the age of 65 he changed his way of life to help others who needed it. With his values on learning he donated money and built many libraries. Throughout life he even wrote a few books to help pass on his knowledge. He did all this before his death in 1919.

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