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Staff post about: Andrew Carnegie Become an Author

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In 1889, steel magnate and self-made millionaire Andrew Carnegie wrote an essay that would go on to change the way many of the world’s richest thought about their wealth and the responsibility that came along with it. “The Gospel of Wealth” was Andrew Carnegie’s attempt to infuse the business world – especially the upper class of self-made millionaires – with a new sense of philanthropy.

By the time he died in 1919, he had given away most of his fortune, $350,695,653 to be exact. There was still an additional $30,000,000 remaining, but all of it was earmarked for various foundations and charities. All his life, he had been a shrewd businessman, but he spent his last years paying back what he had taken. In writing this essay, the Scot outlined this very ideology.

The central thesis of the essay focused on the dangers of wealthy entrepreneurs simply passing on their fortune to their children, or other persons and organizations that were not qualified to handle it. Instead of wasting money on frivolous expenses and using it inefficiently, Carnegie argued that such money should be put towards the public good. Thus, even as capitalism could indeed hurt some while benefiting others, poverty could in fact be tackled and solved by the very wealthy businessmen that had contributed to the problem.

The Gospel of Wealth was not an attack by Andrew Carnegie on the laissez-faire system of capitalism. In fact, it was exactly the opposite. While he acknowledged the unequal effects of the system, he believed that the corporation should be allowed to act as it pleased with little to no government interference. To counter the imbalance, however, Andrew Carnegie suggested that the responsibility falls squarely on the individual wealthy entrepreneur.

Why did he not believe in simply leaving money to his children? As he writes in his essay, history proves that most heirs to large fortunes use their inheritance foolishly, enjoying a life of luxury instead of investing it wisely and productively for the future or for the public good. It was precisely in accordance with this philosophy that he created the Carnegie Foundation in 1903, and began dispensing his money in the form of endowments to libraries and other public institutions.

Giving away his wealth was not something he took lightly. As he writes in his essay, money should not be squandered on frivolous expenditure. When several institutions spent the gifts they had received from him on extravagant buildings, he created a set of architectural guidelines that focused on simple and functional structures.

The Gospel of Wealth received much praise, but unsurprisingly not as many followers. Indeed, Andrew Carnegie proved to be a unique species of entrepreneur for the ease with which he gave away his vast fortune. Today, Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth stands out as a revolutionary theory of altruism – the likes of which remain rare even today.

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