Robber Barons- Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland but immigrated to America in 1848 at the age of 12. His first job in America, where he was paid $1.20 a week, was as a bobbin boy in a textile mill in Pittsburgh. He began to enroll in night classes to learn bookkeeping. He soon became a Western Union messenger boy who would sometimes take over when the telegraph operaters wanted a break. He soon became the city's fastest telegraph operater. In 1852, Tom Scott hired him as his secretary and personal operater. Seven years later Carnegie took over as head of the line's western division when Scott became vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Carnegie played it smart and invested his earnings from the railroads and by 1868 he was earning more than $56,000 a year in his investments. In the early 1870's he decided to build his own steel mill. He became the first steelmaker to know the actual production cost of each ton of steel. He soon learned the benefits of vertical integration. This allowed him to controll all aspects of manufacturing, from extracting raw materials to selling finished products. This all shows how he started off with nothing and then became one of the most sucessful steelmakers. He started out making $1.20 a week to making $56,000 a year. He also consolidated his power by the vertical integration. He was also very charitable by giving over $300 millon in his lifetime. His company was also the first business capitalized at more than $1 billon. His one and only philosophy was "Watch the costs, and the profits will take care of themselves." This was a result in self-discipline and hard work.