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Newly edited and annotated 1889 | Essay

The Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) was one of the titans of America’s Gilded Age. He was also a prolific author, writing hundreds of speeches, articles, pamphlets, and letters to the editor, as well as seven books, including an Autobiography (published posthumously in 1920). Proud of his pen, Carnegie is today perhaps most celebrated as the author of a pair of articles first published in the North American Review in 1889, which together have come to be known as The Gospel of Wealth . Here, Carnegie boldly articulated his view of the rich as mere trustees of their wealth who should live unostentatiously, provide moderately for their families, and use their fortunes to promote the “general good.” He goes on to suggest some “best uses” to which the millionaire can devote his wealth (universities, libraries, medical institutions, public parks, and more). The Gospel of Wealth caused quite a stir on both sides of the Atlantic, not least for its now famous declaration that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.”

Andrew Carnegie. The Gospel of Wealth. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2017 (first published in 1889).

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The Gospel of Wealth Essays and Other Writings

By andrew carnegie introduction by david nasaw, category: classic nonfiction | business | literary criticism.

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About The Gospel of Wealth Essays and Other Writings

Words of wisdom from American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie Focusing on Carnegie’s most famous essay, “The Gospel of Wealth,” this book of his writings, published here together for the first time, demonstrates the late steel magnate’s beliefs on wealth, poverty, the public good, and capitalism. Carnegie’s commitment to ensuring and promoting the welfare of his fellow human beings through philanthropic deeds ranged from donations to universities and museums to establishing more than 2,500 public libraries in the English-speaking world, and he gave away more than $350 million toward those efforts during his lifetime. The Gospel of Wealth is an eloquent testament to the importance of charitable giving for the public good. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Also by Andrew Carnegie

About Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie emigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1848 at the age of 13. At the age of 65 he sold the Carnegie Steel Company to J. P. Morgan for $480 million and devoted the rest of his… More about Andrew Carnegie

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The Gospel Of Wealth

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Analysis: “the gospel of wealth”.

Some scholars believe Carnegie’s article, “The Gospel of Wealth,” to be the original text outlining the responsibility of philanthropy, a responsibility many believe is held by the wealthy. First published in 1889 in The North American Review, “The Gospel of Wealth” insists that the rich have a moral obligation to provide for the less fortunate, and Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune in iron and steel, puts conditions on the act of provision he demands of his self-made peers. For example, Carnegie is adamant that the offspring of a wealthy family are exempt from the category of ‘the less fortunate,’ denying that the tradition of inheritance is a worthy outlet for surplus wealth. Even more importantly to the public interest, indiscriminate donations of various sums of money made directly to the poor are deemed ill-advised, as they will surely cause more problems than they will solve. These conditions put forth by Carnegie are characteristic of not only the content of the article but of Carnegie’s bold rhetorical style . By starting and finishing paragraphs with strong assertions that reflect his certainty, Carnegie leaves very little room in his writing for dissenters.

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The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and His Essay The Gospel of Wealth

For the first time in one volume are two impressive works by Andrew Carnegie himself: his autobiography and "The Gospel of Wealth," a groundbreaking manifesto on the duty of the wealthy to give back to society all of their fortunes. He practiced what he preached, erecting libraries across the county, founding Carnegie Mellon University, building Carnegie Hall, and performing countless other acts of philanthropy because, as he wrote, "the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced."

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Andrew Carnegie

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 9, 2021 | Original: November 9, 2009

Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist. Carnegie worked in a Pittsburgh cotton factory as a boy before rising to the position of division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859. 

While working for the railroad, he invested in various ventures, including iron and oil companies, and made his first fortune by the time he was in his early 30s. In the early 1870s, he entered the steel business, and over the next two decades became a dominant force in the industry. In 1901, he sold the Carnegie Steel Company to banker John Pierpont Morgan for $480 million. Carnegie then devoted himself to philanthropy, eventually giving away more than $350 million.

Andrew Carnegie: Early Life and Career

Andrew Carnegie, whose life became a rags-to-riches story, was born into modest circumstances on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland, the second of two sons of Will, a handloom weaver, and Margaret, who did sewing work for local shoemakers. In 1848, the Carnegie family (who pronounced their name “carNEgie”) moved to America in search of better economic opportunities and settled in Allegheny City (now part of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania . Andrew Carnegie, whose formal education ended when he left Scotland, where he had no more than a few years’ schooling, soon found employment as a bobbin boy at a cotton factory, earning $1.20 a week.

Did you know? During the U.S. Civil War, Andrew Carnegie was drafted for the Army; however, rather than serve, he paid another man $850 to report for duty in his place, a common practice at the time.

Ambitious and hard-working, he went on to hold a series of jobs, including messenger in a telegraph office and secretary and telegraph operator for the superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1859, Carnegie succeeded his boss as railroad division superintendent. While in this position, he made profitable investments in a variety of businesses, including coal, iron and oil companies and a manufacturer of railroad sleeping cars.

After leaving his post with the railroad in 1865, Carnegie continued his ascent in the business world. With the U.S. railroad industry then entering a period of rapid growth, he expanded his railroad-related investments and founded such ventures as an iron bridge building company (Keystone Bridge Company) and a telegraph firm, often using his connections to win insider contracts. By the time he was in his early 30s, Carnegie had become a very wealthy man.

Andrew Carnegie: Steel Magnate

In the early 1870s, Carnegie co-founded his first steel company, near Pittsburgh. Over the next few decades, he created a steel empire, maximizing profits and minimizing inefficiencies through ownership of factories, raw materials and transportation infrastructure involved in steel making. In 1892, his primary holdings were consolidated to form Carnegie Steel Company.

The steel magnate considered himself a champion of the working man; however, his reputation was marred by the violent Homestead Strike in 1892 at his Homestead, Pennsylvania, steel mill. After union workers protested wage cuts, Carnegie Steel general manager Henry Clay Frick (1848-1919), who was determined to break the union, locked the workers out of the plant. 

Andrew Carnegie was on vacation in Scotland during the strike, but put his support in Frick, who called in some 300 Pinkerton armed guards to protect the plant. A bloody battle broke out between the striking workers and the Pinkertons, leaving at least 10 men dead. The state militia then was brought in to take control of the town, union leaders were arrested and Frick hired replacement workers for the plant. After five months, the strike ended with the union’s defeat. Additionally, the labor movement at Pittsburgh-area steel mills was crippled for the next four decades.

In 1901, banker John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) purchased Carnegie Steel for some $480 million, making Andrew Carnegie one of the world’s richest men. That same year, Morgan merged Carnegie Steel with a group of other steel businesses to form U.S. Steel, the world’s first billion-dollar corporation.

READ MORE: Andrew Carnegie Claimed to Support Unions, But Then Destroyed Them in His Steel Empire

Andrew Carnegie: Philanthropist

After Carnegie sold his steel company, the diminutive titan, who stood 5’3”, retired from business and devoted himself full-time to philanthropy. In 1889, he had penned an essay, “The Gospel of Wealth,” in which he stated that the rich have “a moral obligation to distribute [their money] in ways that promote the welfare and happiness of the common man.” Carnegie also said, “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.”

Carnegie eventually gave away some $350 million (the equivalent of billions in today’s dollars), which represented the bulk of his wealth. Among his philanthropic activities, he funded the establishment of more than 2,500 public libraries around the globe, donated more than 7,600 organs to churches worldwide and endowed organizations (many still in existence today) dedicated to research in science, education, world peace and other causes. 

Among his gifts was the $1.1 million required for the land and construction costs of Carnegie Hall, the legendary New York City concert venue that opened in 1891. The Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Foundation were all founded thanks to his financial gifts. A lover of books, he was the largest individual investor in public libraries in American history.

Andrew Carnegie: Family and Final Years

Carnegie’s mother, who was a major influence in his life, lived with him until her death in 1886. The following year, the 51-year-old industrial baron married Louise Whitfield (1857-1946), who was two decades his junior and the daughter of a New York City merchant. The couple had one child, Margaret (1897-1990). The Carnegies lived in a Manhattan mansion and spent summers in Scotland, where they owned Skibo Castle, set on some 28,000 acres.

Carnegie died at age 83 on August 11, 1919, at Shadowbrook, his estate in Lenox, Massachusetts . He was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in North Tarrytown, New York.

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The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and His Essay The Gospel of Wealth (Dover Thrift Editions: Biography/Autobiography) Paperback – June 18, 2014

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A native of Scotland, Andrew Carnegie emigrated to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in his youth and through voracious reading and personal initiative became one of the richest men in American history. His autobiography recounts the real-life, rags-to-riches tale of an immigrant's rise from telegrapher's clerk to captain of industry and steel magnate.

Industrialist, innovator, scholar, and philanthropist

Andrew carnegie (1835-1919).

One of the earliest memoirs of an American capitalist, this volume appeared shortly after the 84-year-old author's death in 1919. Its real-life, rags-to-riches tale recounts the Scottish immigrant's rise from telegrapher's clerk to captain of industry and steel magnate.

This volume includes Carnegie's essay "The Gospel of Wealth," in which he outlines his philanthropic views, stating that "the millionaire will be but a trustee for the poor," bestowing charity on those willing to help themselves.

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A native of Scotland, Andrew Carnegie emigrated to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in his youth and through voracious reading and personal initiative became one of the richest men in American history. His autobiography recounts the real-life, rags-to-riches tale of an immigrant's rise from telegrapher's clerk to captain of industry and steel magnate. One of the earliest memoirs of an American capitalist, the book appeared shortly after the 84-year-old author's death in 1919. Industrialist, innovator, scholar, and philanthropist, Carnegie gave away more than ninety percent of his wealth for the establishment of libraries, schools, and hospitals. In addition to describing how he amassed his enormous fortune, his memoirs chronicle the deliberate and systematic distribution of his fortune for the enlightenment and betterment of humanity. This volume includes Carnegie's essay "The Gospel of Wealth," in which he outlines his philanthropic views, stating that "the millionaire will be but a trustee for the poor," bestowing charity on those willing to help themselves.

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• Essay Database >
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The 'gospel Of Wealth' By Andrew Carnegie Essay Sample

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Wealth , Society , People , Money , Poverty , Wellness , Social Issues , Philanthropy

Words: 1250

Published: 12/23/2021

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`The 'Gospel of Wealth' is an argumentative and persuasive essay that was written by Andrew Carnegie in 1889. It was published by the North American Review journal under the title, ‘Wealth’. However, it was later changed to 'Gospel of Wealth' in 1908 (Carnegie and Hutner, 34). This essay described the responsibilities of the wealthy businessmen in making a better society through philanthropy. Andrew Carnegie was a poor immigrant with a Scottish descent. Later, he became a successful businessman who accumulated a lot of wealth in his steel business. His target audience was the rich people in society. He His ideas on philanthropy were motivated by his personal observations on how the rich spend their money on unimportant and extravagant way while the majority in the society is languishing in poverty. Carnegie’s article comes as a revolutionary and persuasive call for the rich people to develop a sense of generosity for the benefit of the general public. The main theme of Carnegie's essay was the hazard of permitting extensive sums of money to be under the control of few people or organizations which are not well prepared rationally or sincerely to adapt to them (Carnegie, 12). Subsequently, the wealthy business person must accept the obligation of giving his fortune in a way that it will be put to proper use, and not squandered on trivial ways. The very presence of poverty in an industrialist society could be invalidated by the wealthy people in the society. Hoarding personal wealth is morally wrong. Carnegie suggested that the ethics of a free enterprise system in which the government did not interfere with or influence an individual’s right to possess as much wealth as he can get and do whatever they wanted to do it with it were wrong. In order to fully comprehend the 'Gospel of Wealth', we must first understand his convictions on the subject of capitalism. The emergence of Industrial Revolution and the concept of free market had brought about the individualism and the massive accumulation of profits for personal gain. Carnegie suggested that this system brought about survival for the fittest kind of society where few people became wealthier as the majority languished in poverty. As such, wealth and power was left in the hands of a few people and the gap between the rich and the poor was increased (Zunz, 88). Carnegie hated this disparity and urged his fellow rich businessmen to embrace philanthropy as a way of reducing it. In addition, Carnegie believed that the wealthy in the society ought to be philanthropic for the common good of the people. He urged the wealthy people to embrace generosity. He suggested that the wealthy have unique abilities, knowledge and are diligent in their business activities. as such, they should distribute their wealth to benefit everyone in the community. Carnegie’s ideas were based on communism rather than capitalism. He viewed communism to be the solution to society’s poverty problems. Carnegie was of the opinion that wealth should have been shared among individuals through families leaving their money to their relatives, spent on public investments such as building of schools, libraries, hospitals and other public utilities. He felt that the rich people became rich as a result of other people, the society, and therefore, they should give back to them other than wasting their money on non-beneficial ways. This strategy would make sure that the wealth of one would be turned into the wealth of many through sharing and bring about development. Carnegie reasoned that it the wealthy should set a good example of living and spending their money in a purposeful and meaningful way so as to set precedence for his family and relatives. He believed that by doing this, family members will have a disciplined way to spend money in case the wealthy person dies. They would use the inheritance to make the society better through giving. Carnegie is one of the wealthiest people to inspire such philosophical essentialness and experimentation that it captures and typifies the genuine worth of a wealthy individual and that of being an altruist (Carnegie and Hutner, 56). This essay is an intriguing examination of the distribution of wealth from the point of view of one of the real philanthropists of the twentieth century. Carnegie's perspectives on generous giving are interesting and astounding. His suggestion to the wealthy is that it is good to leave their money to others when they die, and it's immeasurably better to do so while living. That way the money gets spent doing the most useful for the vast majority. In addition, the wealthy head honcho knows best how to spend the money; the general population would squander it. He also suggests that incredible industrialists held down the wages of their specialists in light of the fact that the additional money they may have made would have been spent on gewgaws that would not have profited society (Carnegie and Hutner, 12). Carnegie, who was enthusiastic about keeping compensation low, utilized all that additional money to build 2500 libraries throughout the country. This is a good approach to advantage the society. Carnegie attempted to persuade his readers that he knew how to fulfill the requirements of the general population vastly improved than did the general population. Carnegie's article contradicts with other texts such Interview form President McKinley that emphasizes on free trade and defensive mechanisms for the American people without a mention of the importance of philanthropy. However, this article agrees An Indian Perspective by Chief Joseph through the mention of the importance of peace and coexistence through supporting each other in all aspects of society. Carnegie's goals are to have wealth controlled to advantage the regular individuals and group. Nonetheless, I wasn't too certain occasionally when reading this article about which side he was truly on. I think i made sense of it and understood that he supposes wealth ought to be controlled by the hands of a couple however done as such to advantage all individuals whereas most other people who feel that wealth ought to be managed by the assumption that it will just advantage those few. This essay is informative as it is revolutionary. It It gives a meaningful direction towards change in society on the subject of income inequalities. Philanthropy is a good solution on how to end poverty, bring development and diminish the gap between the rich and poor (Zunz, 23). Carnegie also gives taxation as another solution towards the problem of income inequality. He suggested that the government should initiate progressive taxation systems where those earning more will be taxed more and vice versa. In 1880’s, the negative effects of industrial revolution industrial revolution had taken root. The problem of immigrants, poverty, unemployment and resettlement had taken root (Larry Vandermolen). Carnegie believed that by giving out a portion of wealth to the poor, these problems will be greatly reduced.

Works Cited

Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel Of Wealth. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014. Print. Carnegie, Andrew, and Gordon Hutner. The Autobiography Of Andrew Carnegie. Signet; Reissue, 2006. Print. Larry Vandermolen, Irene Cheung - from 4e SG/site. "An Indian's Perspective, Chief Joseph". Wwnorton.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. Zunz, Olivier. Philanthropy In America. Princeton University Press, 2014. Print.

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Home — Essay Samples — Business — Andrew Carnegie — Analysis of ‘Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie

Analysis of 'Wealth" by Andrew Carnegie

• Categories: Andrew Carnegie

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Words: 861 |

Published: Feb 8, 2022

Words: 861 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

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