Andrew Carnegie

At twelve, Andrew Carnegie helped support his immigrant family by working at a cotton mill near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He went on to amass a fortune through shrewd investments in the steel industry. Carnegie sometimes voiced support for labor interests, but his role in the 1892 Homestead strike, a violent conflict between the Carnegie Steel Company and unionized labor, turned him into a symbol of capitalist greed. In 1901, Carnegie Steel merged into the newly formed United States
Steel Corporation, the nation’s first billion-dollar corporation.

In “The Gospel of Wealth” (1889), Carnegie argued that the rich were morally obligated to spend their fortunes to benefit society. Taking a businesslike approach to philanthropy, Carnegie donated $350 million during his lifetime and endowed many institutions and charitable foundations that bear his name today. Around the time this portrait was made, Carnegie began to establish foundations to promote international understanding and world peace.