Andrew Carnegie: From Rags to Riches

Often described as the quintessential “rags to riches” tale, the story of steel

magnate Andrew Carnegie’s rise begins in 1835 in a small one-room home in Dunfermline, Scotland.

Born into a family of destitute laborers, Carnegie received little schooling before his family

emigrated to America in 1848. Arriving in Pennsylvania, the 13-year-old soon got a job in

a textile mill, where he earned only $1.20 per week. Carnegie went on to labor as a messenger

boy and factory worker before eventually winning a job as a secretary and telegraph operator

at the Pennsylvania Railroad. By 1859, the enterprising young worker had

become superintendent of the railroad’s western division. Carnegie invested his newfound wealth