The Starving Scotsman Who Became An American Millionaire
How do you go from one of the poorest children in America to the richest man in the world? That question is what makes Andrew Carnegie’ s biography so interesting! Andrew Carnegie was the ultra-rich Industrialist Era railroad mogul, also known today for the number of libraries and institutions of higher learning that carry his name. Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland in 1835 and immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1848. In Scotland there was wide spread starvation and harsh economic conditions. The Carnegie family believed that America would provide them an opportunity to build a better life for themselves.
When they got to America, however, they found it difficult to find work at first. Even though they were staying with an extended family member, they struggled to come up with the $ 6 a week it cost to feed a family of four. Every family member pitched in and being 13 years old, Andrew took a job that paid him $ 1.20 a week to change spools of thread in a cotton mill 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a Pittsburgh cotton factory.
He had several other jobs as he grew up, but perhaps the most important job he had was working as a telegraph operator. It was there that his boss took a liking to him and introduced him to business management techniques and financial investing. Carnegie later wrote,“ Mr. Scott asked me if I had $ 500. If so, he said, he wished to make an investment for me. Five hundred cents was much nearer my capital. I certainly did not have fifty dollars saved for investment, but I was not going to miss the chance of becoming financially connected with my leader and a great man.”
Carnegie was able to raise the money to invest with Mr. Scott and soon received his first dividend check. He stated,“ I shall remember that check as long as I live … it gave me the first penny of revenue from capital – something that I had not worked for with the sweat of my brow.” He was hooked and continued to build
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