Andrew Carnegie arrived in America as a penniless Scottish immigrant and built the largest steel empire in the world. Then he gave nearly all of it away, funding libraries, universities, and concert halls across the globe. His Gospel of Wealth argued that the rich had a moral obligation to redistribute their fortunes — a philosophy he practiced with a zeal that matched the ruthlessness of his business career.

This episode traces Carnegie from his impoverished childhood in Dunfermline through the Homestead Strike, the sale of Carnegie Steel to J.P. Morgan, and the philanthropic campaign that built over 2,500 public libraries worldwide.

• Carnegie’s immigrant childhood and his rapid rise from bobbin boy to railroad magnate
• The construction of the Carnegie Steel empire and the brutal Homestead Strike of 1892
• The Gospel of Wealth and the philosophical argument for giving everything away
• Over 2,500 libraries, Carnegie Hall, and a philanthropic legacy that reshaped American public life