Question 1

True or false: Carnegie was born into abject poverty in Scotland.

Accepted Answer

True. He was born in a small weaver's cottage in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1835. His family immigrated to the US when he was 12 due to economic hardship.

Question 2

True or false: Carnegie sold his steel company to J.P. Morgan for $480 million in 1901.

Accepted Answer

True. The sale created U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation. Carnegie personally received about $225 million in bonds, making him the richest man in the world at the time.

Question 3

True or false: Andrew Carnegie gave away the equivalent of over $50 billion in today's money.

Accepted Answer

True. Carnegie donated about $350 million during his lifetime, which adjusted for GDP share is roughly $50–$75 billion today, making him one of history's biggest philanthropists.

Question 4

True or false: Carnegie never donated to any universities because he distrusted formal education.

Accepted Answer

False. He founded Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and donated heavily to universities, though he focused more on libraries and adult education.

Question 5

True or false: Carnegie was a pacifist who opposed the Spanish-American War and funded peace initiatives.

Accepted Answer

True. He financed the construction of the Peace Palace in The Hague and founded the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910 to promote global arbitration.

Question 6

True or false: Carnegie wrote a famous essay arguing that the rich should keep all their money to inspire others.

Accepted Answer

False. He wrote 'The Gospel of Wealth' in 1889, arguing the rich should use their surplus wealth for the good of society during their lifetime—not hoard it.

Question 7

True or false: Carnegie was a staunch anti-unionist who violently suppressed the Homestead Strike.

Accepted Answer

False. While his manager Henry Frick brutally crushed the strike, Carnegie was in Scotland and later regretted the violence. He was personally more conciliatory but authorized Frick's tactics.

Question 8

True or false: Carnegie personally funded over 2,500 public libraries worldwide.

Accepted Answer

True. He funded 2,509 libraries, including 1,679 in the US. He believed in self-education and required communities to maintain them, a then-novel idea.

Andrew Carnegie Trivia Questions