Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919)

Recently I read an article in the NYT about the long-standing friendship between 2 billionaires: Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Buffett has been a big contributor to the Gates Foundation. In the article, I learned that they live quite different lifestyles. Gates lives in a mansion with expensive artwork and Buffett has chosen to live simply. Both are generous philanthropes. The article mentioned that Buffett was greatly influenced by one book: The Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie. show more Carnegie ended up donating 90% of his fortune by the time he died. So I was interested in his philosophies.

The book is small, only 24 pages, but packed with some great ideas. He feels that the great wealth divide is inevitable in a capitalistic society, and so it falls to those who are wealthy to figure out what will best benefit society in the long run. According to Carnegie, there are 3 options open to the wealthy: give the money to the heirs upon death, donate money for public use upon death, or give money away while the individual is still alive. Carnegie points to the 3rd option as the best option, as the maker of the wealth can direct it where he feels it is most useful. ‘The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced’ is the last line of the book, and is worth remembering.

There is a lot to think about in this small volume. Somehow it surprised me that it was written in the 1880’s. show less

Signet Classics brings together Andrew Carnegie's The Gospel of Wealth, which is no more than a 13-page essay, first published in 1889, and The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, which was first published posthumously in 1920, a year after his death. However, it is because of the first that Andrew Carnegie is a household name in the United States, and even many people around the world are familiar with his name.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie is almost a non-fiction equivalent to show more Theodore Dreiser's The Financier. From very humble beginnings in his native Scotland, the autobiography describes how Carnegie created a business empire, which he successfully sold off in 1901 or $480 million (in 2014 $13.6 billion). Even in his position as an industrial magnate, Carnegie befriended authors and philosophers, such as Mark Twain and Herbert Spencer, while writing and publishing essays and books himself. The autobiography describes how clever business acumen led to ever increasing business success and even apparent misfortune such as the American Civil War could be turned to profit. The red thread throughout the book is the theme and core on which his wealth was built, how as a young boy he would observe the smith forge the steel in his Scottish village, to working in steel works, a progression from railroads to building bridges and the production of steel in the Pittsburgh Steel Works.

Andrew Carnegie is close to the American Dream of rising from rags to riches, as self-made man, close to the legacy of Benjamin Franklin. However, as is pointed out by Gordon Hutner in the introduction, despite his idealism, Carnegie is not entirely frank about his role in the Homestead Strike which threatened his business interests. However, in his later years he devoted his life to charity, showering money to the purpose of creating libraries and universities, thus returning his wealth to society whence it came from. In this sense the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a worthy follower in this tradition.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie was written in and abruptly broken off, to remain unfinished in 1914. It was published after his death in 1920. show less

A story of a man from humble beginnings, born in Dunfermline, Scotland, who rose to become one of the richest men in the world. Who then retired and tried to give it all away and along the way rubbed shoulders with some of the luminaries of the age. Sometimes comes off as too good to be true but on the face of it a great man.

I love how his optimism in life really comes through in his writings. He never says anything bad about anyone and always has a positive outlook on things. I think he would have been an enjoyable person to be around. Before reading this book, I assumed he was a stuck-up rich guy (being incredibly wealthy in his lifetime) however, it amazed me how gracious he was and how much he really gave back to the world. This book was written in his spare time over several vacations and follows his life show more from starting in a poor Scottish town to the end of his life. I always keep this book around when it is rainy or dreary out, and I feel a bit down because Carnegie's cheery temperament always gets rid of my blues. show less