A "Steel King". Carnegie Steel gained its advantage by building a large steel conglomerate from scratch into a large steel conglomerate that produced steel. It remained the world's largest steel plant for decades and almost monopolized the U.S. steel market. Carnegie, along with Rockefeller and Morgan, was one of the three giants of the American economy at that time. From a penniless immigrant to the "Steel King" who is the richest man in the world, and after becoming famous, he donated almost all his wealth to society. The amount of money he donated during his lifetime was so huge that it was comparable to the Swedish scientist and industrialist Nobel who established the Nobel Prize after his death. He has thus become a hero in the minds of Americans and a model of personal struggle.
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In the United States, the name of "Steel King" Carnegie is a legend and it is also puzzling. Like "Car King" Ford, "Oil King" Rockefeller and other large chaebols, he once influenced the financial situation of the entire United States. But what surprised the world was that at the peak of his career, he gave up everything, pursued another free and unrestrained life, and made huge contributions to charity. He donated money to build the famous Carnegie Concert Hall in New York, established Carnegie University in Pittsburgh, and "Carnegie Libraries" all over the world. This is Carnegie. For him, wealth is not the first priority. Enjoying life and making contributions to society are the true meaning of his life.
A diligent young man who seizes opportunities
On November 25, 1835, Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, the ancient capital of Scotland. His father, Will Carnegie, made a living by hand-weaving linen plaid, and his mother, Maggie, sewed shoes as a side job. Although my parents were poor, they were upright and always full of positive and enterprising spirit. This is a family that has inherited a glorious tradition of pride, self-reliance, and self-respect.
Little Carnegie’s grandfather was a cheerful, witty and humorous man with an indomitable spirit. As the eldest grandson, Carnegie Jr. was named after his grandfather, Andrew Carnegie. He has been proud to have such a grandfather since he was a child, and he is also proud to have his name throughout his life. His maternal grandfather was a natural orator, an intelligent politician, and an active local political leader. Perhaps due to the genes inherited from his ancestors, Carnegie was optimistic and enterprising and eloquent since he was a child, which had a great impact on his life.
At the age of 13, with a longing for the United States, Carnegie and his family came to the Port of New York on the east coast of the United States, and then to Pittsburgh. The life of immigrants was very poor. Little Carnegie worked as a child laborer during the day and went to night school at night, which was very hard. At the age of 14, he came to Pittsburgh to work as a messenger for the David Telegraph Company. Although he was not familiar with the roads at that time, he made a promise to the company that he could memorize the city's routes within a week. The company's manager was moved by Carnegie's perseverance and kept him. Carnegie also fulfilled his promise and became a journeyman of the company.
At that time, Pittsburgh was not only a transportation hub in the United States, but also a material distribution center and industrial center. As an advanced communication tool, the telegraph played an extremely important role in this city where industrialists gathered. Carnegie, who walked through the streets delivering telegrams every day, was like entering a "business school." He is familiar with the name and characteristics of each company, and understands the economic relationships and business dealings between the companies. Over time, he became familiar with this invisible "business encyclopedia", which benefited him a lot in his future career. Therefore, when Carnegie looked back on this period, he called it "the first step on the ladder of life."
In 1853, Scott, director of the Western District of the Pennsylvania Railroad, took a fancy to Carnegie, who had superb telegraph skills, and hired him as a personal telegraph operator and secretary, with a monthly salary of $35. Carnegie was already 18 years old at the time, and he entered this broader world with a strong ambition.
During more than 10 years at the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Carnegie relied on his diligence and agility to be promoted to director of the company's Western District at the age of 24, with an annual salary of US$1,500, and gradually mastered the management of a modern large enterprise. Skill. This skill was indispensable when he later organized a huge steel enterprise.
At the same time, Carnegie also seized the opportunity, tried his best, participated in investments, and frequently succeeded, slowly accumulating a small amount of wealth, which laid a certain economic foundation for him to start a steel enterprise in the future.
In April 1865, the Civil War ended, and the war created a lot of opportunities. The 29-year-old Carnegie had achieved some success at this time, but he was not satisfied. He wanted to seize this critical stage of his life journey and start his own business. So he submitted his resignation to the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The unspeakable road of struggle
Before resigning, Carnegie led people to repair bridges and repair roads, and he often thought about whether iron bridges could be used instead of wooden bridges. Although there were many steel factories in Pittsburgh at that time, they were still in their infancy. In 1862, he and several friends founded a company to build iron bridges. On July 4, 1863, both sides of the Civil War began to use warships to fight, giving Carnegie a warning: The age of sailing ships has passed, and the age of steel is coming. So, after resigning, he traveled to Europe, went to London to inspect the steel research institute there, and decisively bought a steel patent invented by the Dots brothers, and also bought a patent for the coke washing and reduction method. He believed that, These two patents will bring endless wealth.
Carnegie returned to the United States and began to work hard to do something big. He gathered scattered funds and merged the two companies in which he had previously held shares to form the United Iron and Steel Company. At that time, the steel production and operation in the United States was extremely decentralized. From mining and ironmaking to final products such as rails and iron plates, many manufacturers were required in the process. In addition, middlemen add layers of pressure in every production and marketing link, resulting in a very high cost of the final product. Carnegie was well aware of these shortcomings of traditional steel companies, and he was determined to establish a brand-new modern steel company that integrated supply, production, and sales throughout the production process.
Carnegie's ideal is slowly being realized, and his work is becoming increasingly busy. While he is running around day and night for the company's affairs, he suddenly receives a message from his old boss and benefactor, Scott. Emergency telegram. When he hurried to Scott's office, he found that the famous investor Morgan was also there. It turned out that Scott's loan from Morgan expired and needed US$250,000, and he was waiting for Carnegie's help. Facing the arrogant Morgan and the anxious Scott, Carnegie felt very uncomfortable. If it hadn't been for Scott's promotion, he would have been just a poor boy, not to mention that he had given so much at the beginning of his career. He received help, but if he gave him the $250,000, his steel company would be ruined!
Ultimately Carnegie refused to help. This was just the beginning. With the economic panic of 1873, more and more people suffered from the bad luck of bankruptcy. The original partners, the Cluman brothers, and the younger brother's father-in-law, these veteran figures had to put themselves aside. The shares were sold to Carnegie. Finally, in 1890, Carnegie changed the company's name to Carnegie Steel Company, and the capital increased to US$25 million. He held more than half of the company's shares.
Although some people called him "Despicable Carnegie" at the time, it cannot be denied that Carnegie's contribution to the steel industry and his unique vision cannot be denied. When he took the first step into the steel industry, he began to boldly introduce the most advanced production technology and talents, drastically improve production management, constantly improve steel production technology, reduce costs, and make himself successful every time.
By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Carnegie Steel Company had become the largest steel company in the world. It has more than 20,000 employees and the most advanced equipment in the world. Its annual output exceeds the steel output of the United Kingdom, and its annual revenue reaches 40 million US dollars. Carnegie is the company's largest shareholder, but he does not hold positions such as chairman or general manager. His success depends to a large extent on the appointment of a group of talents who understand technology and management. To this day, people often quote his famous saying: "If all my factory equipment and materials are burned down, but as long as I keep my entire team, I will still be a steel king in a few years."
After he became famous, a journalist visited him and asked him how he worked to achieve what he is today. Carnegie replied: "There are two basic factors why I can succeed: First, I was born in a poor family since I was a child. When I was a child, I was often full from one meal and didn't know where the next meal was. I often hear my parents sighing at night to cope with the poverty they face, so I strive to make progress and work hard when I grow up. Second, I must do everything seriously, no matter how big or small. When I was 12 years old, I worked as a textile worker. I worked hard to spin yarn well.
Later, I worked as a postman. I tried my best to remember the name and appearance of every household in my postal district. Eventually, I became familiar with almost every household. Try to do every little thing carefully, and then no one will dare to trust you with big things. "
Another life after the baptism of Eastern culture
As early as one day at the end of December 1866, Carnegie wrote such a memo: "Life must have a goal, and Making money is the worst goal. There is no idolatry worse than the worship of wealth. "But later on, he has been immersed in the business world. This thing has long been forgotten.
But just 20 years later, many unfortunate things happened, which made Carnegie's life also difficult. There began to be huge changes. In October 1886, his brother Tom, who had grown up with Carnegie and worked hard together, passed away. Then, his mother could not bear such a blow, and then passed away. Carnegie, who had been very filial since childhood, passed away. Carnegie simply could not accept such a blow. He had a high fever for six consecutive weeks, and all his living relatives left him one by one. It was the first time that he felt so lonely. So, in 1887, Carnegie, who was over fifty and still unmarried, He walked into the church with his fiancée who had been engaged for many years. But the tragedy did not end there. In 1889, Carnegie's right-hand man, Director Jones, died in a blast furnace explosion, which was another heavy blow to Carnegie. Ji believed in Eastern traditions and studied the works of Confucius and Buddhist scriptures, but he never took action. This time, he began to truly face the cruel facts and became somewhat sober.
For several days, He was thinking about the road he had traveled: from a little messenger, a descendant of poor immigrants, to a millionaire and a multi-millionaire today, what is the use of having so much wealth in my hands? All my childhood dreams were gone. I got it, but why couldn't I feel happy? Now my relatives are leaving one by one, and the friends I once left will never come back. What is my purpose of making money? Finally, he came to this conclusion: "Rich man." If he cannot use his talent for amassing wealth and donate his wealth to benefit society during his lifetime, then his death will be dishonorable. "
In 1990, he announced in the book "The Gospel of Wealth": "I will no longer work hard to earn more wealth. "So, he resolutely retired from his booming steel business and sold Carnegie Steel Company to financial tycoon Morgan for US$500 million. Then, he began to implement his great plan to dedicate his wealth to society. .
In the nearly 20 years until Carnegie's death on August 11, 1919, Carnegie's life changed dramatically. In 1901, the first year after his retirement, he first He spent $5 million to establish a relief and pension fund for steelworkers to express his gratitude to the employees who helped him achieve his career success. Then, in order to help young people who were aspiring and from poor families, he donated money to establish a foundation in New York City. 68 libraries. This library construction project lasted for 16 years. He donated a total of 12 million US dollars to build 3,500 libraries.
The following year, Carnegie was in his second year. He founded "Carnegie University" in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Later, he donated money to build various schools and educational institutions in the United States and Britain.
In the following years, Carnegie established several funds. He donated US$5 million to establish the "Those who sacrifice themselves to save others" and he donated US$39 million to establish the "University Professors Retirement Fund". To protect the educator's later life. He also established the "President's Pension Fund" and the "Writer's Fund" to provide support to U.S. presidents or writers in their later years. In addition, he provided the "Carnegie Celebrity Fund" to 11 countries. In 1911, the elderly Carnegie couple had been directly involved in donation work for 10 years. , feeling deeply exhausted physically and mentally, Carnegie decided to use the remaining 150 million US dollars to establish the "Carnegie Corporation" and let company personnel act as their agent for donation work.
For young people who want to start a business, Carnegie once said this: "Don't think that children from rich families have a good fate. Most of the dandy boys have become slaves to wealth. They cannot resist any temptation and fall into a state of depravity. You know, children who are used to having fun are no match for those who come from poor backgrounds.
Some poor children, even children who are so poor that they have no chance to study, have achieved great success as adults. "So, "The richest inheritance a young person can inherit is to be born into a poor family."