Andrew Carnegie -
A True Rags to Riches Story

Andrew Carnegie, born November 25, 1835, was brought up in a weaver's cottage in Dunfermline, Scotland. His father and mother struggled to feed their family, so they decided to leave Scotland and emigrate to the US in 1848. The Carnegies borrowed money for their trip, and ended up settling in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Andrew went to work as a bobbin boy, working twelve hour days, six days a week, in a cotton mill changing out spools of thread. He was only 13. Despite their poverty, Andrew's father instilled in him, the importance of reading and self education.

Used to hard work, Andrew applied himself. He was hired as a telegraph messenger boy, by the Ohio Telegraph Company, with the help of his uncle. Andrew loved his new job, scurrying from business to business, he met important men and made the most of these connection. He was soon promoted to an operator. He met Colonel James Anderson, who supported hard-working boys by letting them use his personal library. Andrew took advantage of this opportunity, and became good friends with Anderson. He went on to be employed as an assistant and operator, by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Here is learned business management and cost control. He also learned to invest money, which started him on the road to becoming one of the richest men in the world.

Carnegie knew how to network with important men, how to invest money, and how to build a business. He built the Carnegie Steel Company, which later merged with a group of smaller companies to become U.S. Steel. His interest in education spurred him on to found the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Mellow University and the Carnegies Museums of Pittsburgh. He gave money to those who built libraries and schools, in both the US and the UK.

By the 1890s, he had built the most profitable industrial enterprise in the world and was known as one of the "Captains of Industry." When he retired, he spent the remainder of his life on philanthropic enterprises, especially those that dealt with world peace, education and scientific research.