100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
7. Andrew Carnegie
“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”
Not only was Andrew Carnegie a successful businessman and philanthropist, the Scottish-American industrialist led the path for enormous expansion of America’s steel industry, which was instrumental for the construction of America’s railroads, which rapidly transformed commerce and transportation. The massive effect Carnegie had on the modern world is incalculable. Carnegie is also one of the most generous philanthropists to ever live. By the time of his death, Carnegie had given away 90% of his vast fortune (today equally just under $5 billion) to charities and foundations. One remarkable example of which was the Carnegie Endowment which provided funding for the construction of many of the public libraries across the United States. A true rags to riches story, Carnegie wrote “The Gospel of Wealth,” before his death, calling on the rich to transform society through philanthropy. He is credited with inspiring an age of philanthropy and setting the modern example of generosity now almost expected of the wealthy.
