Carnegie "the man who dies rich dies disgraced"

It has taken almost 120 years, but millionaires are finally beginning to follow Andrew Carnegie's advice.

In his 1889 "Gospel of Wealth" essays, Carnegie demanded that the wealthy give away their fortunes in their lifetimes. Those who did not would "pass away 'unwept, unhonored, and unsung'. Of such as these the public verdict will then be: 'The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.' "

By his own measure, Andrew Carnegie did not die disgraced. Carnegie also heeded his own "gospel," developing a moral philosophy of capitalism that resonates today.

He handed out more than $350 million (tens of billions in 2006 dollars) to small colleges, technical schools and libraries. He established a scientific research institution in Washington; provided trusts to pay students' tuition and professors' pensions; built a library/museum/concert hall complex in Pittsburgh; and gave millions of dollars to campaigns for world peace and to establish the Carnegie Corp., dedicated to the "advancement and diffusion of knowledge."

[Excerpt of an article by David Nasaw, The Los Angeles Times]