Who Is Andrew Carnegie A Philanthropist

What is Philanthropy? Who is a Philanthropist? A philanthropist is someone who gives their fortune back to schools, libraries, communities and much more. Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates did just that. They continue to give away their fortune to help others. Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates became very wealthy in different ways, shared similarities as well as differences with their works of philanthropy.

As young as 33, Carnegie was pulling in an annual income of $50,000 a year, a huge amount at that time, and this was enough for him. Carnegie was a firm believer that anyone could make it to the top, and that it was the wealthys’ duty to help the poor work towards a more comfortable life. Carnegie said that “the man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” This is a greedy, unselfish philosophy that a robber baron could not conceive.

Andrew Carnegie, a tightfisted employer among many, but a good-hearted philanthropist among many more; however, does this really explain if he was or was not a hero? Andrew Carnegie was a scottish immigrant born in November 1835 who grew up in a poor and hard life, whose family made the tough decision to the Americas in 1848, started working at age 12 to appease his family’s financial trouble. He worked harder and harder, deciphering dot-dot-dash messages by ear, setting train schedules and untangling train wrecks, and saving Union soldiers, and finally, as a result, rose to become one of America’s richest and most integral heroes. However, we should ask ourselves this: Was Andrew Carnegie truly a hero? Well, to answer that question we need to look at the definition of a hero. Hero, a word defined as a person who holds amazing courage, or a person who possesses strong integrity, or a person who boasts a vast amount of intelligence or wisdom. Going by this interpretation, we could state that Andrew Carnegie was a hero in the business area because of his strategic intelligence; in the social area because of his honest integrity; and in the economic area because of his courageous work and investments.

Finally, Carnegie should be considered a hero because of his philanthropy contributions and donations to society. Andrew Carnegie believed that the best way to spend your fortune was to devote it for the most beneficial results for the community by providing them what they could not do for themselves (Doc 8). Carnegie spent most of his life gaining immense amounts of money and becoming one of the richest men of the 19th century. Once he retired, he felt he needed to use his

One of the best-known philanthropists was the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who devoted the latter part of his life to giving away most of the huge fortune he had amassed in the steel industry. Following the principles laid down in his essay “Gospel of Wealth” , Carnegie returned over $300 million

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a major American industrialist in the late 19th century and after obtaining substantial wealth from his steel industry, became an advocate for giving back to the less fortunate. Carnegie’s desire to donate to those less fortunate came from past experiences, growing up as an immigrant and working in a cotton factory young. He knew and understood the hardships that people faced when not able to acquire the type of wealth he rose to earn. Through his long life this atypical businessman advocated for many and dedicated the later years of his life to promoting the general welfare of the world.

     Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie

In the movie, The Richest Man in the World, Andrew Carnegie played a major role in influencing the Industrial Revolution, which changed the economy of the US and the world forever. This era brought upon significant changes through economic developments that would not only change the ways of the economy but also the social aspect of society, especially within the cities where this growth was located. The shift from hand-made to machine-made products increased productivity and decreased costs. Through the innovations of the new forms of energy, such as iron, and then steel, establishments of factories began, competition between businessmen arose, and innovations of transportation in the city through railroads and bridges developed. The

Andrew Carnegie was an extremely wealthy man since his invention of steel was extremely revolutionary. But his earnings weren't always spent for the greater good. Carnegie used his fortune to get out of the conflict. The background essay states that “Carnegie received a draft notice from the Union army. Carnegie followed the practice of many wealthy Northern draftees and hired a Pittsburgh draft agent to find a replacement. For only $850 he paid his way out of doing service.” If Andrew Carnegie was a true hero he would be honored to fight for our

Andrew Carnegie was not always a rich billionaire. In fact his early years were quite simple. According to document A, Carnegie lived in an attic of a modest home that was shared by another family, (Document A). Andrew Carnegie struggled, his families knew the struggles of not having enough income,and by the age of twelve Carnegie was required to employ in a job. According to an essay about Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Carnegie was “working six 12-hour days for $1.20 a week. A year later Andrew found a more challenging job delivering telegrams”, (Was Andrew a Hero ?). Andrew Carnegie had worked 12 hours just to earn his money ,as well as help his family which shows the character traits of perseverance and the sympathy that Carnegie acquired. The great steel master was really determined to make an effort on the world, and so Carnegie did. According to the same document about Carnegie’s early life, the document has stated that “He would adopt the Bessemer system and build a steel mill in America. So much for retirement!”, (Was Andrew a Hero ?). His risks and effort had helped him accomplish so much, He persevered and made himself successful,because he was willing to take the chance. This indeed proves how much of hero carnegie is, because heroes are willing to take costly risks.

Andrew Carnegie. Who was he? Was he just a robber baron or a captain of industry. Andrew was a self made Entrepreneur in the late 1800s. He was the owner of the Carnegie Steel Company which monopolized the steel industry. In 1889 he wrote the famous “Gospel of Wealth” which made the use of libraries to give to the worthy poor that were smart to use them. He also gave away 350 million dollars. On the other side Carnegie’s steel workers were treated poorly by long working hours and reduced wages. He also gave support to the plant manager Henry Frick who hired Pinkerton thugs to intimidate workers on strike and many were killed in the conflict. Andrew Carnegie was sometimes saw as a robber baron taking others money to give away not spending his own money On the other hand people saw him as a captain of industry giving to the worthy poor with libraries and millions of dollars.

Carnegie believed that a man who dies rich is a disgrace. He does not believe that person should leave their wealth to their children. (Document M) Andrew Carnegie gave a vigorous amounts of donations to different charities. Giving back to charities does not make a hero a hero. He only pretended to be a philanthropist because he did not want to die with vigorous amounts of money.

One reason Carnegie was a Captain of industry was that he donated $4,000,000 dollars to the Homestead Relief fund. The Homestead Relief fund goes to the steelworkers and their families. In addition he donated $50,365,00 dollars for free public libraries. This shows how Carnegie gave back to his workers and community.Instead of trying to get money in the most abysmal way he was giving away millions of dollars to multiple funds!

Andrew Carnegie was both a hero and a villain, considering he was a philanthropist, he knows what it was like to be poor and the way he treats his employees. In some aspect, he was indeed a hero and it does seem he care about the humanity, which is why he had so many charities and foundations. He is even considered the original philanthropist. Despite all the evidence on why Andrew Carnegie was a villain, he was a hero in many individual’s eyes. Andrew Carnegie was a phenomenal businessman and a hero for the American

Andrew Carnegie was a firm believer in idea of individualism. That everyman must work and rise on his own ambition alone, that each man for themselves. In other word, he did not believe in the communist thought of working