What I Do!
While working for the railroad, I began making investments. I made many wise choices and found that my investments, especially those in oil, brought in substantial returns. I left the railroad in 1865 to focus on my other business interests, including the Keystone Bridge Company. By the next decade, most of my time was dedicated to the steel industry. My business, which became known as the Carnegie Steel Company, revolutionized steel production in the United States. I built plants around the country, using technology and methods that made manufacturing steel easier, faster and more productive. For every step of the process, I owned exactly what I needed: the raw materials, ships and railroads for transporting the goods, and even coal fields to fuel the steel furnaces. This start-to-finish strategy helped me become the dominant force in the industry and an exceedingly wealthy man. It also made me known as one of America's "builders," as my business helped to fuel the economy and shape the nation into what it is today. By 1889, Carnegie Steel Corporation was the largest of its kind in the world.