Andrew Carnegie

In his 1889 essay known as The Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie argued that the rich should give their fortunes away in their lifetimes and that a man who dies rich dies disgraced. He then did largely that, selling Carnegie Steel in 1901 and giving away around 90 per cent of his wealth before he died in 1919. What he could not give away himself went to the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which still operates.