Andrew Carnegie, born 1835 in Scotland progressed through the ranks of the victorian era and came to lead the American steel industry. Eventually gaining the casual title of 'richest man in the world', taking into account inflation, he infact still remains one of the richest people in history. Soon realising that there's only so much wealth that one man could make use of in his day and age, he set about giving almost all of it away. By the time of his death in 1919 he had given away nothing short $350 million, more than 90 percent of his fortune, after devoting the remainder of his life to large-scale philanthropy, with special emphasis on local libraries, world peace, education, and scientific research. With the fortune he made from business, he built Carnegie Hall in New York and began the establishment of public libraries that became his lasting worldwide legacy. In total, Carnegie funded some 3,000 libraries, located in 47 US states and across English speaking countries such as Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, and Fiji.