Andrew Carnegie Scottish American Philanthropist
June 14, 2009 by The Laird
Filed under Andrew Carnegie
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Andrew Carnegie is known world wide as being a Scottish American who gave away billions by today’s money to charity and other good causes but was he also someone who gave orders to others to murder people who stood in his way? 
It is well documented that Carnegie was born in Dunfermline in Scotland and lived a life of poverty until the family moved to the United States when he was aged 13. His family had suffered persecution in Scotland because of their political role as leaders in the Chartist movement. The Chartist members believed strongly that the only way to produce a fair world was to give votes and power to the mass working class by taking it from the rich ruling class of the day. This made it difficult for his parents to find steady employment so they sold everything they had to pay for tickets to emigrate to the New World country of the USA.
Even then Andrew only managed to get a job as a bobbin boy in a textile mill a dangerous job in a very noisy environment. Changing jobs a year later he became a telegraph operator and through doing several jobs and shrewd investments he built up a small sum of money becoming wealthy enough to found American Steel (which he later sold for $400 million) of which he personally received $360 million. A tidy sum of money at the beginning of the 20th century and enough to make him the world’s richest man.
His passion for education and reading probably came from the long associated culture in Scotland where for centuries virtually everyone including the poorest of the poor were taught to read the prayer book and their hymn books from a very early age. Unfortunately this has died out and many children are now graduating from secondary education unable to read or write well.
He at one time said
“The man who dies wealthy dies disgraced”
and spent years giving away money to charitable causes but still had $30 million when he himself died – although virtually all of it went into his charitable trust funds.
An interesting story was of how Mark Twain (himself of Scottish blood) wrote to Andrew Carnegie asking for a dollar and a half so he could buy a hymn book but requested that Carnegie send the money so he could choose his own book. I was unable to discover whether Twain ever got the money.
But Andrew Carnegie wanted to inspire people to educate themselves and gave away $50 million to build over 30,000 libraries and set up dozens of charitable trusts to help well over 1,000 students graduate every year from university. Coupled with his donations of over $10 million to promote word peace including building the Hague Peace Palace he is estimated to have given away over $300 million during his lifetime. Since his death in 1919 his charitable trusts have given of over $2.5 Billion and still handing out.
Carnegie himself never forgot his home country of Scotland and would visit regularly over the years sometimes spending up to six months of the year in Scotland even describing Dunfermline (where he was born) as “the most sacred spot on Earth”.
He bought Skibo Castle as his main Scottish residence.
This magnificent castle initially built in 1185 for the Bishop of Caithness but had been demolished and rebuilt many times was largely rebuilt for him in the early 20th Century. Skibo’s major claim to fame in more recent years was as the venue for Madonna’s Wedding to Guy Richie in December 2000.
Following his death it became a private members golf club with a membership fee in excess of 9,000 dollars per year plus a joining fee of over $12,000. It also has a restriction of only 500 members so remains exclusive and only the very rich are able to become members. This was not Carnegie’s first connection with golf years earlier he founded the St Andrew’s Golf Club reputed to be the oldest golf club in North America.
Even following his death he maintained his connection with Scotland with his grave being marked by a Celtic cross made of stone quarried near Skibo Castle.
Andrew Carnegie A true Scot who made his money in America but never forgot his Scottish roots.
We earlier raised the question about Andrew Carnegie also being a murderer but for space reasons we have moved this to the Andrew Carnegie murderer post.
I would like to comment that issues with regards to this kind of philanthropist. How he becomes a murderer while he is known to us people that he is a good man with a heart which belongs to those he helped. Don’t be too judgmental okay all you have to do is pray that person maybe God has plan to him for is good.