So, Andrew Carnegie became the richest person in the world, and then gave most of his money away? Yes, that’s exactly what he did. And during his lifetime he created and sold a highly successful steel company that made him $480,000,000. But he started out just as a factory worker aged 12 and it was this poor beginning that resulted in his decision to give his money to good causes. He strongly believed that wealthy people are obliged to donate some of their income to society. What kind of philanthropic work did he do? Well, in 1902, the year after he retired, he founded the Carnegie institution to support scientific research. He also established a pension fund for teachers and gave money to various universities. Throughout his life he loved to read, at a time when there weren’t any public libraries. But, when he was young, a local rich man had allowed him to use his personal library for free and Carnegie remembered this. As a result, he made donations to towns and cities and 2000 public libraries were built. Not just in the US, but also in countries including the UK, Australia, Canada and the West Indies. By 1911, Carnegie had given away much of his fortune, 90% in fact. And that’s why, still today, he is considered to be one of the greatest philanthropists of all time.