Andrew Carnegie - Alexander

Andrew Carnegie was actually a Scottish immigrant who immigrated to America. He had very little wealth when he was younger, but he was ambitious and hard-working, and went on to hold a series of jobs, including messenger in a telegraph office and secretary and telegraph operator for the superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Carnegie became railroad division superintendent In 1859. While he was superintendent, he made profitable investments in a variety of businesses, including coal, iron and oil companies and a manufacturer of railroad sleeping cars. After leaving his job in the railroad in 1865, Carnegie continued his journey in the business world. The U.S railroad industry was growing at a rapid rate, so Carnegie decided to invest in more businesses related to railroads and founded things like Keystone Bridge Company, and a telegraph firm. Since he had connections in the business, it made it much easier to get contracts. By the 1860s, Carnegie was extremely wealthy. Carnegie founded a steel company in the early 1870s. He was a very good businessman, so over the next couple of decades, he created a steel empire, maximizing profits and minimizing inefficiencies through ownership of factories, raw materials and transportation infrastructure involved in steel making. He later consolidated all his business to form Carnegie Steel Company. After Carnegie retired, he became a philanthropist, saying in an essay that the rich have “a moral obligation to distribute [their money] in ways that promote the welfare and happiness of the common man.” Carnegie eventually gave away 350 million dollars, which is equivalent to billions today, and founded projects like the famous New York building Carnegie Hall.