ANDREW CARNEGIE

Andrew Carnegie emigrated from Dunfermline, Scotland to Pennsylvania at age 12 with his family, who were destitute. He started work at age 13 as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory for $1.20 per week.

He taught himself to become a telegraph operator, was noticed by Thomas Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and rose through management by pure intelligence and ambition. He invested strategically in oil, iron, and railways throughout the Civil War era.

In 1873 he focused entirely on steel, building Carnegie Steel into the world's largest steel company. He sold it to J.P.

Morgan in 1901 for $480 million — approximately $16 billion in today's dollars — the largest private business sale in US history at the time. He then spent the remaining 18 years of his life giving away virtually everything — founding 2,500+ libraries worldwide, Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Carnegie Steel Company — Founder (sold to J.P. Morgan for $480M in 1901, became US Steel).

Carnegie Hall — Funded. Carnegie Mellon University — Founded.

Carnegie Libraries — 2,500+ worldwide. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace — Founded

Vertical integration, strategic positioning, and patience. Carnegie built his steel empire by controlling raw materials, transportation, and processing simultaneously.

He invested counter-cyclically — buying companies and assets during panics when prices were lowest. His mantra was to put all your eggs in one basket, watch that basket, and dominate it.

Selling Carnegie Steel to J.P. Morgan for $480 million in 1901.

Morgan had tried to buy Carnegie out before at lower prices. Carnegie waited until Morgan needed the business to create US Steel and extracted maximum value.

Patience in exit is as important as entry.

He drove workers and managers brutally hard. The Homestead Strike of 1892 — where Carnegie Steel's management brought in Pinkerton agents against striking workers — resulted in deaths and permanently damaged his reputation.

He was in Scotland while it happened, which added cowardice to the charge of exploitation.

Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket. Diversification is a protection against ignorance — if you know what you are doing, concentration is more profitable.

Give when you have it. Do not wait for death to decide.

Married to Louise Whitfield Carnegie. One daughter, Margaret.

Largely self-educated. Left school at 13.

Self-taught in business, reading, and eventually philosophy.

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