What I'll Do With My Wealth

A few months ago, the History Channel aired; what to me was an interesting, Sunday night series entitled: The Men Who Built America.  My fascination with the subject led me to deeper research on one of these men: Andrew Carnegie.  Sorry to say I found that producers of the television series contained very little real history.   

I became especially interested with the true about the great act of generosity that created the Carnegie libraries.  I did not realize the story behind the Carnegie libraries nor did I know anything about Andrew Carnegie's wealth he amassed and gave away to build amazing libraries. Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant to the United States, represents the classic tale of rags to riches that is the quintessential reflection of the American dream.  Ingenious, shrewd, and visionary without any formal education beyond grade school, Carnegie became the richest man in America during the "The Gilded Age" of the late nineteenth century. Riding the wave of rapid development from the Industrial Revolution, Carnegie became the king of industry, first of railroads and then of steel.

But Carnegie's was a mixed legacy. An on line transcript entitled: From American Experience: "Andrew Carnegie: The Richest Man in the World, sites that while he amassed fortunes, his workers languished for pennies in what is described as one of the "darkest chapters in American labor history." While he may have been less ruthless than some of his other industry contemporaries, by today's ethical standards for laborers, Carnegie was brutal in his demands for long hours of labor with very little pay.

I began to pay attention to Carnegie's life and legacy because he is an oft-cited inspiration for two of the richest men in the world today who systematically give their money away.  These two men are Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.  Gates and Buffett cite an oft-quoted refrain from Carnegie: "The man who dies rich dies disgraced... And besides, it provides a refuge from self-questioning."  Perhaps some of Carnegie's own self-questioning came from the way in which he made his money, seeking efficiency and profit at the expense of worker well-being.  Whatever the case, the richest man in the world believed that money made from society should be given back to society.  From Carnegie's example, Buffett and Gates go and do likewise with their own fortunes.   

Capitalism, at its heart, is about multiplying and advancing capital.  But, I ask myself: what is to be done with immense profits?  Perhaps, in the example of Andrew Carnegie, despite a mixed legacy, one might recognize that wealth production should include social capital—namely, that great gains financially can be accompanied by great gains for society and for the public good.  Great wealth can bring profit not just for individuals, but for communities, cities, and indeed, regions all around the world.  Like the biblical notion of being blessed to be a blessing, my wealth—time, treasure, and talent—can be used for the sort of profit that is more than just individual, capital gain.

Since I follow Jesus, I have a powerful motivation to view my wealth in the same manner, and his instruction on the matter is yet another illustration of his concern for the whole and not merely an isolated group, like the top 1, 2,3, 4, 5 percent of the wealthy.  Jesus instructed his followers to "go and sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure where no thief comes near nor moth destroys."  This means, as John Galligan, commentator, points out in an 1985 article of Spirituality Today that "possessions in themselves are neither good or bad; it is the choices that one makes concerning them that determines their significance... the proper use of material goods that are non-essential to the disciple is to be manifested in the positive act of helping those in need."

In other words, wealth can create profit, but the kind of profit my immense time, talent and small treasure creates is up to me to decide.  Recognizing the eternal thruth: Where my wealth is, there will my heart be also.