by The Steel King and Apostle of Vertical Integration and Cost Accounting
This nomination for Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish immigrant who built Carnegie Steel into the world’s largest and most efficient steel producer. Carnegie was the master of vertical integration, owning the mines for iron ore and coal, the railroads and ships to transport them, and the mills to produce finished steel. He relentlessly adopted new technology like the Bessemer process. His most significant business innovation was the rigorous application of cost accounting to every step of production, allowing him to identify inefficiencies and drive down costs relentlessly. His drive for efficiency led to the bloody Homestead Strike of 1892. Carnegie proved that in heavy industry, controlling the entire supply chain and meticulously tracking costs were the keys to dominance. His later philanthropy established a new model for the social responsibility of great wealth. He embodied the transition from robber baron to philanthropist.
