With all his businesses, investments, and accomplishments, Carnegie still struggle with some of his partners and managers, especially after his brother Tom dies. He hires Henry C. Frick and names him chairman in 1889, pleased with his choice as Frick increases profits from $2 million to $5.4 million by 1890. However, times become difficult during a four-year depression and strike, damaging Carnegie’s reputation. He comes to lose trust in Frick, and their relationship suffers as they disagree on managerial issues. Frick resigns and Carnegie forces other partners out to cut cost and labor. He monopolizes the industry, making a deal with John D. Rockefeller to purchase his iron ore, keeping him from becoming competition in the steel industry. At 63 years old, Andrew Carnegie is approached to sell Carnegie Steel to an unknown buyer, whom Frick vouches for. However, because he is suspicious of Frisk, he seeks out the mystery buyer. After revealing Frisk’s dishonesty, Carnegie eliminates him from the buyout deal, causing a year-long conflict. That conflict results in Frick taking a loss and Carnegie taking control of both Carnegie Steel and Frisk Coke, worth $320 million in capital. The Carnegie company is later sold …show more content…
He can relate to Andrew’s story as he also started out poor in the land of opportunity. Livesay’s respect for Carnegie shows as he describes the triumphs and achievements obtained through hard work and determination. Livesay can be deemed biased because he admires Carnegie despite his reputation as a penny-pincher who schemed to make money. The book is not a simple read, as it flashes back and forth to cover certain areas of significance in Carnegie’s life. It is confusing at points and readers may find themselves rereading parts to make sense of it. However, the use of chapter titles that each portray a period of Carnegie’s life makes the story easy to
Andrew Carnegie, the monopolist of the steel industry, was one of the worst of the Robber Barons. Like the others, he was full of contradictions and tried to bring peace to the world, but only caused conflicts and took away the jobs of many factory workers. Carnegie Steel, his company, was a main supplier of steel to the railroad industry. Working together, Carnegie and Vanderbilt had created an industrial machine so powerful, that nothing stood in its path. This is much similar to how Microsoft has monopolized the computer software
During the 1900’s the media and public eye never thought to question Andrew Carnegie’s motives. Andrew Carnegie wanted people to see him as a caring person, and achieved this by giving large amounts of money to charity. However, the money donated wasn’t his own earnings. He maintained a good image in the media because he was always giving to charity; but what the people didn’t consider is where he got the money from. The question of whether or not Andrew Carnegie was a hero will rely on three important articles. A hero is someone who cares about doing what is best for the people rather than for themselves, they aren’t worried about how others view them, and are strong willed so that they will not change their minds when they’ve made a decision. Andrew Carnegie’s focus on money and fame combined with his duplicitous and hypocritical nature does not equal to hero; instead, he stole the rightful wages of his workers, defends
Their partnership began when Andrew Carnegie hired Henry Clay Frick who was known as the king of coke (p.57), to run his company because he owned coke ovens which played a huge part in the manufacturing of iron and steel. Prior to hiring Frick, Mr. Carnegie “sold all of his coke ovens and brought coke through an open market” (p.52), In order to keep production cost down, which in return he would see a larger return on his investments. Their partnership was like a roller coaster full of twists and turns,
During the rise of industry and unions in the United States, society, politics, and economics were all developing into what we know as life today. Some influencers of these reforms were businessmen who grew a small business into what was essentially an empire. Their hold on big business caused any other businesses to fail, leading to the formation of economic policy over monopolies. One of these businessmen, Andrew Carnegie, built a steel monopoly that, through vertical integration, liquidated any steel-related competition. Carnegie changed big business in the United States by influencing business policies, paving the path for future large companies, and inspiring the wealthy to help the poor and general society.
Chapter three Pittsburg and Work of Andrew Carnegies autobiography starts off with a 13-year-old Carnegie thinking about going to work. He already determined that his family should be able to make 300 dollars a year, which would keep them from depending on others. Uncle Hogan had already seen the businessman in Carnegie at a very young age. He tells Carnegie that he was a likely boy and apt to learn; and believed that if a basket were fitted out for him with knickknacks to sell, he could peddle them around the wharves and make quite a considerable sum. This comment by Uncle Hogan leaves Carnegies mother outraged. She wanted her two sons Carnegie and his brother to always be honorable, respectful and always do what is right. Soon after the incident Carnegies father gave up handloom weaving for the cotton factory. This decision also granted Carnegie a position as a bobbin boy, where he made one dollar and twenty cents per week. Carnegie will go on to make millions after, but he
His mother desperately borrowed some money to go from Scotland to Pittsburgh,(the steel capital of the world) in America by boat. There, Carnegie started work in a cotton factory, but this was not the highlight of his career. As a matter of
Andrew Carnegie never wanted to move to America; with tears he reluctantly walked on the boat and said goodbye to his Uncle Lauder and his cousin Dod, and started the 4,000 mile journey to the land of the free, petrified of what was to come. The trip and the new land would bring new opportunities that would impact his life and millions of others for centuries to come. Carnegie by Peter Krass is one of the best historical books that accurately portrays the events that have occurred during Carnegie’s life.
Carnegie was a self made millionaire, breaking free of his poor, immigrant beginning by means of the steel industry. As a young child he desired access to the wealth of knowledge housed in libraries, which were reserved for the elite. His humble origins, among other reasons, led to Carnegie donating his fortune back to the community through the building of libraries and music halls. As noted in his book, “The Gospel of Wealth” Carnegie believed that “the man who dies rich dies in disgrace.” To this day this giant of wealth is known as one of the most generous and influential figures in american
Andrew Carnegie was a well known businessman who made a fortune with his major company, Carnegie Steel. But the hot topic is not about the company, rather the man. Some claim Carnegie was a robber baron who treated his workers terrible, just so he could get his money. Others, consider him a perfectly fair, captain of industry who worked hard to get where he got. Throughout his whole life, Carnegie made and still continues to make, a difference in the world today.
When Andrew Carnegie was younger, he worked in a cotton mill, in which his weekly salary was $1.20. After his job at the cotton mill, he became the manager of the Pennsylvania Railroad company. As he got older, he realized the importance of iron and steel to the American economy, and he began to produce his own. Steel-producing companies tried to compete with Carnegie’s business. He made several efforts to lower the cost of
In conclusion, Andrew Carnegie was a captain of industry because, although he mistreated workers, he used the profit he gained from his company to benefit the people around him, in ways such as donating large funds of money to libraries. Other entrepreneurs during this time did not do as much as Carnegie and used their profits solely for their own personal gain, which would make them a robber baron. Carnegie’s good actions have set examples for many entrepreneurs
He considered himself a Scottish Immigrant and also made a huge impact on the business aspect during the Gilded Age. Andrew built the world’s largest most up to date steel mill. After this huge creation, he became the best-known manufacturer during the late 1800’s. He was one to pioneer new strategies to seize markets and consolidate power. During his business career, he used a strategy called vertical integration, which did exactly that. Vertical integration was a tactic that would bring stability to the steel empire. Carnegie integrated by buying out all the companies needed to produce his steel. Carnegie eventually sold his company to the most famous banker, J.P. Morgan, making Carnegie a fortune and one of the richest men. In the book the author states, “from competition to consolidation”, and I believe that Andrew Carnegie was king of this. He truly used his marketing strategies to shrink his competition while consolidating the factory types.
Andrew Carnegie was a hero because in document A, “Source from Carnegie’s library in Pittsburgh” it showed that he was self made. Even though in this specific document it shows that he was “self” made, it also shows that Andrew Carnegie was selfish. In document A, “Source from Carnegie’s library in Pittsburgh” it said that Carnegie had bought a castle in Scotland, and just renovating it cost 10 million dollars! Carnegie was selfish for spending 10 million for a castle when instead he could have helped the community. Andrew could have built houses for those in need, provide for them. With those 10 million dollars that he spent on just the castle, Carnegie’s community could
Carnegie saw how bad the wooden railroads were, so he proceeded to slowly replace them with iron ones. Carnegie's charm, perception, and hard work led to becoming one of the world's most famous men of the time, and led to the first corporation in the world with a market capitalization in excess of one billion when he sold his companies to John Morgan who called them United States Steel Corporation.
Through all of Carnegie's hard work his steel company become the classic example combined with innovative management to create a mass-production system (Boyer, page 539). The production of steel was being massively reproduction national making him rich and the public calling him the world’s richest man. With Carnegie making a lot of money, he decided to donated some his money to charitable projects, libraries, universities, and international-peace causes; And in his lifetime he gave more than 300 million dollars (Boyer, page 540). With all of Carnegie’s success he portrayed it all as hard work and self-discipline, while Carnegie was able to see the bigger picture and he had cleverness behind all his hiring talented associates. So he his lifetime he gave over 300 million dollars to support others to shape the future with the money that was donated to the universities and international- peace causes; and with the other donated money going to the charitable projects was helping shape their life and maybe they could help shape the