World's Wealthiest Man 

     He was born in Scotland, where his family had basically a one room house. No wonder they immigrated to America in 1848. He was 12. He worked in a Pennsylvania cotton mill, 12 hours a day. That's not how he became wealthy. His pay was $1.20...a week! 

     Next as a messenger boy, spending his Saturdays at the library. From there, he became a telegraph operator, and eventually, superintendent of Pennsylvania Railroad. 

     By age 30 he was a rich investor, a major player in steel production. He invested in railroads, bridges and oil during the Civil War.  In 1901 he sold Carnegie Steel to J.P. Morgan and retired as the wealthiest man in the world. In retirement he gave 90 percent of his wealth to charities. 

Hunger for knowledge led Andrew Carnegie to fund 2,800 libraries in the U.S. and seven other nations. He believed in opportunities for education among common people. His Pittsburgh property on the river is now the site of Heinz Field, Pittsburgh Steelers. 

     Pittsburgh has a Carnegie Science Center, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and a Carnegie Mansion. My dad parked and we walked past Carnegie Library to attend Pirates baseball on Forbes Ave. You see where our interest was. 

     Carnegie funded famous Carnegie Hall in New York City, where he lived for a time, and spent summers in Scotland. He delayed marriage to care for his aging mother, later married at age 51, and died in 1919. His wealth was estimated to be $372 billion.  

     Elon Musk's net worth is only $357.54 billion.  

        Jimmy