Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-241) and index.

"Andrew Carnegie was born into poverty in Scotland in 1835. By 1901 he was the Steel King of America and had sold his business for $480 million. Today, his name is known worldwide, commemorated in Carnegie halls around the world and in the thousands of Carnegie libraries which he funded. But who was Andrew Carnegie and how did the boy from nowhere become a millionaire philanthropist? This book charts his phenomenal rise form his first lowly employment in a cotton mill in Pittsburgh, and delves into the character and contradictions of the real Andrew Carnegie." "When he was young boy, Carnegie's family emigrated to America where he took full advantage of the land of opportunity. He followed a policy of self-improvement and worked his way up through telegraph messenger, railroad developer and oil magnate to become the foremost steelmaster in America and, later, a well known philanthropist. By the time he died in 1919 he had distributed over $350 million in public benefactions, which included support for scientific research, the foundation of public libraries worldwide, the advancement of teaching and the furtherance of international peace." "In Carnegie: 'The Richest Man on the World' we discover the private man behind the public figure and explore the influences on his life against the background of social circle which included everyone from King Edward VII and Sir Edward Elgar to Rudyard Kipling and the Rockefellers."--BOOK JACKET