(Hanoi Iron and Steel – HSV) With unremitting efforts in every job position, Andrew Carnegie had a far-sighted vision for the development of the steel industry. Thanks to that, he became one of the richest billionaires in the world of all time.
“I believe that the right path to success in any industry is to become proficient in that industry. And in my experience, I have rarely, if ever, met a man who is eminently successful in making money and yet cares about too many things.
As for myself, my decision was made early. I focus on steel production and will become a master in this field,” quoted Andrew Carnegie in the book Andrew Carnegie's Autobiography - From a poor boy to the richest steel billionaire in America.
Andrew Carnegie (1835) was a Scottish-American businessman and was known as the Steel King. He was once the third richest person in world history with a fortune equivalent to 372 billion USD at current prices. He contributed to the strong development of the US steel industry in the late 19th century.
Coming from a family where his father was a handloom weaver, when industrialization took place strongly, Andrew Carnegie's family encountered difficulties and faced famine. In difficult circumstances, the Carnegie family decided to immigrate to America to find an opportunity to change their lives.
In his teens, Andrew Carnegie worked at a cotton mill for $1.20 a week, often working 12 hours a day. Despite miserable living conditions, he always set a clear goal of making money to support his family.
Thanks to his good ethics, Andrew Carnegie was hired by a steam engine factory owner. This job has a salary of 2 USD/week, but is extremely difficult, causing the teenager to be exhausted almost every day.
However, Andrew persevered in working and did not give up because he is now the main breadwinner of the family. It was that determination that gradually opened up new opportunities for the poor teenager's life.
Andrew went through many job positions from invoice handler, to sales person, to delivery person... In each position, he learned new skills and achieved proud achievements. Andrew Carnegie believes that there is no inferior job position. No matter where he worked, he showed great dedication to his work and always stood out from his colleagues.
According to Andrew Carnegie: "The average person only puts 25% of his or her energy and abilities into work. The world takes its hat off to those who devote 50% of their abilities and far above the peak of glory are those who devote 100% of their energy." And what he thought was right.
That year, while working as a telegraph mechanic, Andrew Carnegie was assigned to survey the condition of the lines after a disaster in a nearby town. The railroad's general manager, Thomas A. Scott, noticed this promising young man and offered Carnegie to become his personal secretary for $4 a week. Scott taught Carnegie about investments and introduced him to a series of new businesses.
Later, Scott became manager of the Northern Railroad, and Carnegie's assistant had great opportunities for development.
During his work, he realized that the country needed a major infrastructure overhaul. As a person with a sharp vision, he considered and secretly thought that the near future would still be railways, but beyond that it would be the materials used to produce trains, cars, railways... And steel would be the future material of America and the whole world.
Therefore, when he learned that a figure in the railway industry wanted to sell all his company shares for $600, Andrew Carnegie quickly decided to seize the opportunity. At that time, 600 USD was a large amount of money, he had to borrow from everywhere to achieve his goal. Not long after, the stock price increased sharply and Carnegie earned tens of thousands of dollars. His career began to flourish from there.
When he became a prominent investor in the railway industry, Carnegie soon realized the huge demand for iron and steel to produce trains and rails... In addition, iron and steel are also the material to replace old wooden bridges that are gradually rotting everywhere in the United States.
With a strategic vision, Andrew gathered all his accumulated money to open a steel factory, specializing in providing steel bridge supports and signed many large contracts. In 1892, he merged all subsidiaries into a steel company named Carnegie, began building an iron and steel production complex and became famous as the King of Steel.
When he was only 35 years old, Andrew Carnegie was on the verge of becoming a billionaire at America's leading iron and steel manufacturing corporation.
While dying on his hospital bed, billionaire Andrew Carnegie was still angry with himself because his $30 million assets had not yet been donated. Coming from a poor background, when he became rich, Andrew Carnegie always wanted to use his assets to help disadvantaged people in society.
In his 1889 essay The Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie clearly expressed the view that rich people should use their assets to help society. “The man who leaves behind a million-dollar fortune after his death will not be mourned, honored or praised,” he wrote. A rich death is a shameful death."
After selling all his companies and stopping his business, billionaire Andrew Carnegie focused on charity work. In the last 18 years of his life, he donated a total of 90% of his assets, equivalent to 350 USD, to charity.
Carnegie also believed that education could change society. When he was poor, he often went to the public library to read books for free. It was these books that helped Carnegie gain the knowledge to succeed in the future.
He has funded more than 3,000 libraries around the world, awarded scholarships to students and pension funds for teachers. Perhaps most notably, he founded the Carnegie Technical School to educate Pittsburgh's working class.
The schools grew into the world-famous Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). When building these schools, Carnegie said: "My Work is From the Heart". The saying has become the motto of CMU in general and his life in particular.
On August 11, 1919, Andrew Carnegie passed away. According to his will, the entire amount of 30 million USD was donated to funds and charitable organizations. Carnegie only left his only daughter a small amount of money, just enough to live comfortably in the same house. Later, the house maintenance fee was too expensive, so the daughter sold the house.