1862-1939
Steel Manufacturer and Financer

The Beginnings.

As a young grocery clerk in Braddock, Pennsylvania, the site of the Edgar Thomson Steel Work of Carnegie Steel, Charles Michael Schwab made the acquaintance of "Captain" William R. Jones. Jones was the plant's general superintendent and got Schwab a job as an engineer's helper at two dollars a day in the early 1880s. From this position Schwab was able to learn a great deal about the steel business. He studied the chemistry and metallurgy of steel late into the night in his chemistry laboratory in his home. Schwab rapidly moved up within Andrew Carnegie's company by using his managerial skills to solve labor and public-relations problems. In 1897 he was appointed president of Carnegie Steel Company, earning more than $1 million a year with bonuses, most of which he reinvested in the firm.

U.S. Steel.

In 1900 Schwab sparked...