Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, and died on August 11, 1919. In the late 19th century, Carnegie oversaw the growth of the American steel industry and rose to become one of the richest men in history. In the English-speaking world, he rose to prominence as a philanthropist.
Nearly 90% of his fortune, or $350 million (approximately $5.5 billion in 2021), was donated to foundations, charities, and educational institutions over the course of his final 18 years. His 1889 essay titled “The Gospel of Wealth” encouraged philanthropy by urging the wealthy to use their wealth to benefit society.
52 Andrew Carnegie Quotes
- “It is the mind that makes the body rich.”
2. “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.”
3. “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all credit for doing it.”
4. “Aim for the highest.”
5. “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit for doing it”
6. “If you want to get rich, think of saving as earning.”
7. “The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.”
8. “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”
9. “If you want to conquer fear don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy!”
10. “No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.”
11. “You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big, and live big.”
12. “He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.”
13. “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”
14. “Not only had I got rid of the theology and the supernatural, but I had found the truth of evolution.”
15. “Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.”
16. “Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.”
17. “You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb a little.”
18. “If we truly care for others we need not be anxious about their feelings for us. Like draws to like.”
19. “It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you could do alone.”
20. “You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brand can do its best.”
21. “There is little success where there is little laughter.”
22. “is necessarily limited by his lack of knowledge of the circumstances”
23. “I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.”
24. “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”
25. “Life is not so much a matter of position as of disposition.”
26. “Wealth is not to feed our egos, but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.”
27. “Put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket carefully”
28. “Be king in your dreams. Make your vow that you will reach that position, with untarnished reputation, and make no other vow to distract your attention.”
28. “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.”
29. “No person will make a great business; who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.”
30. “A man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.”
31. “The sole purpose of being rich is to give away money.”
32. “The man who dies rich, dies disgraced.”
32. “The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.”
33. “The secret of success lies not in doing your own work but in recognizing the best person to do it.”
34. “Do real and permanent good in this world.”
35. “You may never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
36. “Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.”
37. “All human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.”
38. “True it is, we only hate those whom we do not know.”
39. “All achievements, all earned riches have their beginning in an idea.”
40. “I am as a speck of dust in the sun, and not even so much, in this solemn, mysterious, unknowable universe.”
41. “Aim for the highest and when it’s a question of God’s almighty spirit. Never say I can’t.”
42. “No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.”
43. “I believe that the true road to pre-eminent success in any line is to make yourself master of that line.”
44. “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert”
45. “The secret of happiness is renunciation.”
46. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”
47. “I believe that higher wages to men who respect their employers and are happy and content are a good investment, yielding, indeed, big dividends.”
48. “That best portion of a good man’s life— His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love.”
49. “Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was because you wanted something. Aim for the highest and when it’s a question of God’s almighty spirit. Never say I can’t.”
50. “My motto is concentration. First honesty; then industry and then concentration.”
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51. “The greatest astonishment of my life was the discovery that the man who does the work is not the man who gets rich.”
52. “Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace, and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark… In any library in the world, I am at home, unselfconscious, still and absorbed.”
A Must Read: Andrew Carnegie’s Mental Dynamite Hardcover
We are reminded by Mental Dynamite of the significance of visionaries like Carnegie and Hill. It is a remarkable book that was published at a crucial time for the world. I strongly advise you to read this. I’m a hung fan of Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich,” and this book fits right in with that level.
Andrew Carnegie Short Biography
At the age of 12, Carnegie and his parents moved to Pittsburgh from Dunfermline, Scotland. After beginning his career as a telegrapher, Carnegie amassed wealth by the 1860s through investments in oil derricks, railroad sleeping cars, bridges, and railroads. As a bond salesman, he increased his wealth by raising money for American businesses operating in Europe.
He established the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh, which he later sold to J. P. Morgan for $303,450,000. This company served as the foundation for the U.S. Steel Corporation. He overtook John D. Rockefeller as the richest American for several years after selling Carnegie Steel.
The remainder of Carnegie’s life was devoted to extensive philanthropy, with a focus on local libraries, international peace, education, music, and scientific research. His business fortune allowed him to establish numerous institutions, including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carnegie Institution for Science, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the Carnegie Hero Fund, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. He also built Carnegie Hall in New York, NY, and the Peace Palace.
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