Andrew Carnegie

Tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are questioning the value of philanthropy compared to their for-profit companies, marking a shift from earlier charitable pledges. This raises questions about how the new generation of AI-age billionaires will be remembered compared to historical figures like Andrew Carnegie who endowed major institutions. Some experts predict a return to 19th-century style philanthropy focused on broader societal flourishing rather than metrics-driven giving.

Stanford economist Mordecai Kurz argues that tech oligarchs are eroding democracy through monopolies and predicts an end to this trend. Kurz's new book, Private Power and Democracy's Decline, connects monopoly power with political and economic inequality. The US is experiencing an extreme version of a pattern where technological power concentrates in the hands of a few.

Stanford economist Mordecai Kurz argues that tech oligarchs are eroding democracy through monopolies and predicts an end to this trend. Kurz's research connects monopoly power with political and economic inequality. The US is living through an extreme version of a pattern that has repeated itself since industrialization.

The article discusses Andrew Carnegie's 1872 meeting with engineer Henry Bessemer, who developed a new steel-making method during the Crimean War by blowing air through molten iron to remove impurities. This innovation marked a significant advancement in steel production at the time.