One of the greatest stories of rags to riches success is that of Andrew Carnegie, ( 美国 " 钢铁大王 " ,安德鲁 · 卡内基 ) who started life in poverty but became one of the richest men in the world. He grew up in poverty, living in a one-room house, often sleeping to "forget the misery of hunger". To fight starvation, his family migrated to the US . His first job was at age 13 as a bobbin boy, 纺织厂当童工 changing spools of thread in a cotton mill 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a Pittsburgh cotton factory. In his spare time, he would read works of Robert Burns and historical Scottish heroes like Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, and Rob Roy. Carnegie was born in Scotland in 1835, the son of a weaver. In 1848, the family moved to the United States and at 13 Carnegie began to work in a cotton mill, earning $1.5 per week. About three years later, he found a better job as a telegraph messenger boy. At work, his superiors ( 上级 ) were impressed by his abilities and willingness to work hard. In 1853, he gained an office job at the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. This was his first big break. He continued to impress and rose rapidly through the company, gaining more and more responsibility. At the same time, Carnegie loved reading very much and made use of every opportunity to visit the library. He read widely on all subjects, particularly literature. Carnegie now began to save a little money and, with the help of his employer, began to make some successful investments. He invested in the iron industry and eventually set up in business himself, owning several iron and steel plants. This was where he made his fortune. By the 1890s, the Carnegie Steel Company was the biggest and most profitable business in the world. Carnegie had always believed that the pursuit ( 追求 ) of wealth was never an end in itself. In his view, successful, wealthy people should redistribute their wealth for the benefit of everyone in society. True to his word, in 1901, at the age of 66, he retired from business and devoted the rest of his life to charity work. Carnegie's lack of formal education and his poor family background clearly didn't put barriers in the way of success. His rapid rise from poverty to wealth was due to his willingness to work hard, his intelligence and good business sense, and his talent for making things happen. He died in 1919 at the age of 83.