Andrew Carnegie: Biography of a Billionaire Philanthropist
Born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1835, Andrew Carnegie was the son of an impoverished weaver family, who emigrated to Western Pennsylvania in 1848 in search of a better life.
At the tender age of 12, Andrew displayed his budding work ethic by taking a job as a bobbin boy, working 12 hour days, six days a week for the Anchor Cotton Mills Company, earning the staggering wage of $1.20 a week – $35.00 in today’s currency.
The Gift of Education
In 1849, after becoming an accomplished telegraph operator, Andrew’s budding passion for education and reading was given a boost by Colonel James Anderson, who gave the young lad access to his personal library of over 400 volumes of books.
The young prodigy was so grateful for the colonel’s generosity, obliging Carnegie to make a personal resolution that if his future endeavors ever made him a rich man, he would give back to society so that other poor boys could follow in his footsteps as a self-made man.
By the age of 24, Carnegie landed a job as the superintendent of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which gave him the financial wherewith-all to invest in growing companies.
Carnegie Invests and Innovates in Steel
In 1864, Carnegie was one of the early investors in the Columbia Oil Company, which yielded over a million dollars in cash dividends in one year alone.
The demand for iron weapons during the Civil War led Carnegie into the steel industry, which elevated him to industrialist stature by 1885. One of his two great innovations as a steel magnate was the adoption of the Bessemer Process, which allowed the high carbon content of lesser-grade pig iron to be forged into high-grade steel.
As a result of his innovation, steel prices plummeted, making his Bessemer steel the go-to source for rail lines, skyscrapers and bridges. As a result, Carnegie Steel became the largest producer of steel in America, outputting more than 2,000 tons of high-grade steel per day. After selling Carnegie Steel to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for a whopping $304,000,000.00, Andrew Carnegie dedicated the last eighteen years of his life to philanthropy, giving away over 90% of his wealth.
Andrew Carnegie’s Net Worth
Andrew Carnegie’s net worth was pegged at nearly $70 billion in today’s currency. Carnegie’s contributions include Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the Peace Palace or International Court of Justice in The Hague. He also founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which supported educational causes in the U.S. and later the world, as well as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.
He also created the Carnegie Hero Fund, which provided financial assistance and recognition for Americans and Canadians who performed extraordinary acts of heroism in civilian life, while also founding Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.