During the last 18 years of his life, Andrew Carnegie gave away around $350 million (equivalent to $10.9 billion in 2024), almost 90 percent of his fortune, to charities, foundations and universities. Today, 11 August, is the anniversary of his death in 1919.
About 1,700 Carnegie Libraries were built in the United States.
In Canada, between 1901 and 1916, he donated over $2.5 million ($78 million today) to establish 119 public libraries. That’s according to a table here. The top 10 contributions in Canada were:
| Community | Year | Amount ($) |
| Toronto | 1903 | 400,000 |
| Winnipeg | 1901 | 191,000 |
| Ottawa | 1901 | 115,000 |
| Edmonton | 1911 | 112,500 |
| Hamilton | 1909 | 100,000 |
| Calgary | 1908 | 80,000 |
| Regina | 1910 | 59,500 |
| Victoria | 1901 | 52,415 |
| Vancouver | 1901 | 50,000 |
| Fort William | 1908 | 50,000 |
Others are now following in his footsteps. According to Wikipedia, as of 2023, Warren Buffett has given over $50 billion to charitable causes, while Bill Gates’ charitable donations have totalled $100 billion.
Did you notice that none of the libraries were in Quebec? Apparently the Catholic Church would now allow it and that really set back the development of public libraries in the province. I don’t know why the Maritime provinces missed out.
And Ottawa tore down its library in the 1970s – a travesty. Compare that with Smiths Falls, which still has its Carnegie building and just finished renovating it. Or Vancouver – its Carnegie library is in the DTE and serves those who need library services the most. It’s the only branch that’s open on Christmas Day (IIRC).
If Buffett or Gates feel like supporting another library, I definitely have one in mind.