Andrew Carnegie is, to this day, one of the richest American men of all time. Adjusting for inflation, Carnegie's net worth is more than $4.8 billion, $1 billion more than Donald Trump's. Because Andrew Carnegie is best known for his ownership of the Carnegie Steel monopoly and his immense wealth, many people see Carnegie as just another big business owner who mistreated workers and manipulated the market. However, Carnegie is much more than a wealthy business owner. In fact, it started from nothing and built itself from scratch. Scottish immigrant, Andrew Carnegie, despite common misconceptions about his work, embodies the American dream through his strong work ethic, determination to improve his knowledge, and desire to dedicate his earnings to advancing the education of others . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay As an immigrant, Andrew Carnegie built himself from nothing. Carnegie grew up in Dunfermline, Scotland, but as economic and working conditions deteriorated, his parents decided to sell all their possessions to finance a better life in America. Carnegie and his family chose to settle in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, where Carnegie quickly found work as a winder, earning just over a dollar an hour ("The Andrew Carnegie Story"). The following year, Carnegie found a better-paying job with a telegraph company, delivering letters to the Pittsburgh theater ("The Andrew Carnegie Story"). Thanks to this job, he could sometimes watch a play from the upper balcony. While Carnegie worked to support his family, in his free time he spent hours using the public library. He read everything he could, making up for the education he had lost when he left Scotland. Carnegie's work ethic would soon promote him to the position of telegraph company operator. As his skills improved, Carnegie sought employment with the Pennsylvania Railroad and, within a year, was promoted to superintendent ("The Story of Andrew Carnegie"). In just eleven years, Carnegie had become superintendent of one of the fastest growing industries of the Industrial Revolution. With only a high school diploma, Carnegie acquired skills and knowledge as he grew professionally and continued to gain knowledge at the public library. The American dream embodies not only seizing an opportunity, but also working hard to build a more desirable life, and that is exactly what Carnegie did. Although Carnegie's triumph over the challenges he faced as an immigrant was an admirable success in itself, Carnegie's greatest opportunity was yet to come. Working on the Pennsylvania Railroad exposed Carnegie to many industries, and as a result, he began investing in several areas, particularly the oil industry. He made purchases wisely and made a significant profit from those investments (“The Andrew Carnegie Story”). He soon left the railroad to start what would become one of the largest companies of the 19th century. In 1870, Carnegie co-founded a steel company in Pittsburgh. By 1892, this company would become Carnegie Steel, a multi-million dollar company and one of the leading industries of the time, along with Rockefeller Standard Oil. By the 1900s, Carnegie Steel produced the vast majority of American steel, as well as more than.