A Study of The Captains of Industrial Revolution Carnegie, Rockefeller and Others

The Industrial Captains

The industrial age was full of economic billionaires that achieved their status through innovation and using new technology. Most people say that these industrial giants were monsters using low-paid labor like slaves to achieve a high status, yet the truth is that they are ignorant. The industrial captains during the lifetimes of Carnegie and Rockefeller were the beginning, or spark of innovation that lead to a series on new inventions that transformed our society into one based less on friendly connections with family and friends but one socially based on wealth and the use of technology. Carnegie, Rockefeller, and other industrial giants during their time were captains of society that helped our economy because of their innovation, success, and donations.

Creating a new product that becomes nationwide and makes big money is not simple, proven simply by the statistic that 8 out of 10 businesses fail in the first 5 years. Rockefeller was able to create a small oil business and expand it to becoming the biggest shipper of oil in the country. He used natural resources and the needed imports of the country to create what the country needed, which ended up helping the government and the people of America (johndrockefeller.org). Carnegie started as a poor immigrant and made his way up to one of the richest entrepreneurs of his time. He seized opportunities and after the civil war started his own steel industry, something that no one had thought of. Ultimately, innovation sparked after the civil war and was passed down through generations up to this day.

Both Rockefeller and Carnegie achieved great success, not only for their time but for the future too. Carnegie, after making lots of money, settled down and pretty much made his own philosophy. He created the idea that successful business people should play important roles as philanthropists. He wrote a book called the Gospel of Wealth which inspired Bill Gates to give billions to charity, just like Carnegie did himself. Rockefeller became the first billionaire, which is of course a direct measure of his success (biography.com). He created an oil business which would later spark interest in different entrepreneurs to start their own oil business and generate great profits.

Innovation and success may be key in profits, but does it still follow modern morals and mores? One of the most looked up to action is donation, especially big chunks of money. Both Rockefeller and Carnegie were strong supporters of “dying without money”, so they donated a lot of money. They followed the ideal of being Philanthropists, which means they seek the well-being of others especially by donating lots of money. Rockefeller ended up donating about $550 million. Carnegie donated over $56 Million just to create libraries which he believed were important society, which again follows the modern social morals of being a good person.

Carnegie, Rockefeller, and other industrial giants during their time were captains of society that helped our economy because of their innovation, success, and donations. The main arguments that both Carnegie and Rockefeller are irrelevant because low-paid labor would happen either way in the time, but instead of letting other businesses create a lesser amount of these jobs, Carnegie and Rockefeller created a lot of jobs and seized the opportunity to become rich. Both of them didn’t die just by getting rich, they created libraries and donated money for a lot of education. In the end, they were the captains of innovators and entrepreneurs that would come in future generations and start their own industrial business, like Bill Gates who started a gigantic business that controls much of the global economy, yet he donates a large amount of his money towards charities to help others in need of the money.