Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a very poor Scottish kid who immigrated to the U.S. where he became the richest man in the world. He gave away $350 million, nearly 90 percent of the fortune he accumulated through the railroad and steel industries. He was self educated through borrowed books while working menial jobs 12 hours per day.
Carnegie funded retirement pensions for teachers, established the Carnegie Institute of Technology (later Carnegie-Mellon University), and set up scientific research centers and organizations devoted to world peace. He also furnished towns across the globe with everything from music halls and swimming pools to church organs.