76: Chapter 76: Steel Giant Carnegie Makes His Debut!

Inside the main hall of the Morgan estate.

The invited guests had already arrived early.

As soon as Lin Tian stepped into the hall with his two female companions, he instantly became the center of attention.

Elizabeth was wearing a beige evening gown, with that dazzling pink diamond brooch pinned to her chest.

Anna was in a light purple evening gown, with a sapphire necklace hanging around her neck.

A handsome man with beautiful women, they were eye-catching wherever they went.

The men present stared at Lin Tian with envy on their faces.

This kid not only had a mountain of wealth and a sharp mind, but he also brought the two top young ladies of the New York high society with him, one on each side.

The women looked at Anna and Elizabeth with eyes full of jealousy.

In their eyes, Lin Tian was simply the most secure man in all of New York.

He was wealthy and powerful, and at ten years old, he could take down a giant Russian bear with his bare hands; all the socialites in New York were already crazy about him.

For a while, Anna and Elizabeth were even directly ostracized by the entire socialite circle, simply out of jealousy.

"J.P., is this the legendary head of the Lin Group that the old friends have been talking about, Bruce Lin?"

In the center of the hall, a round-faced gentleman with sideburns turned to ask J.P. Morgan beside him.

Morgan held a goblet and smiled slightly: "That's right, this is the fastest money-making little monster I have ever seen.

Now that he has swallowed the Wells Fargo Bank business, plus the Sulfonamide miracle drug that has been selling like crazy lately, the assets of the Lin Group are bound to skyrocket again.

Even my friends in Europe are very optimistic about the businesses under his control!"

"It's a pity this kid is too close to Rockefeller; look, his companion is even the youngest daughter of the Rockefeller family!" the round-faced gentleman replied.

"Indeed. I heard that eight years ago, little Nathan from Europe specifically sought out Rockefeller to invite him to invest in Russian oil, only to be flatly rejected by Rockefeller!" Morgan said with a smile.

"Heh, those old bones in Europe have always wanted to extend their reach into the New World. However, no matter how powerful they are in Europe, this is the USA!"

The round-faced gentleman didn't respond; he knew he wasn't qualified to casually comment on those old-money European financial families just yet.

"J.P., won't you take me over to meet this outstanding young man?"

"I was just thinking the same thing!"

After saying this, Morgan led the round-faced gentleman and walked towards Lin Tian.

A large crowd followed behind him, clearly wanting to borrow Morgan's influence to get to know the head of the new financial group.

Seeing a group of people walking towards them, Bruce and his two female companions simply stopped and waited where they were.

"Good evening, Mr. Bruce!"

The chubby Morgan put on a familiar look and greeted him with a smile.

Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him who was balding on top but looked energetic, Lin Tian immediately extended his hand and played along:

"Good evening, Mr. Morgan! I have long wanted to visit you. You are my idol. Today, finally hearing your voice, I feel like I'm about to hear the teachings of a sage!"

Elizabeth, standing beside him, almost couldn't hold back her laughter when she heard Lin Tian spouting such nonsense.

Anna, wearing white gloves, covered her mouth tightly, her shoulders shaking.

"Heh, what a cunning little fox!" Morgan sighed inwardly.

Lin Tian also complained to himself: "Old fox, why are you pretending to be so familiar!"

At this moment, the round-faced gentleman beside him smiled and spoke: "Hello, Mr. Bruce. I have long admired your name!"

"Let me introduce you, this is Andrew Carnegie, my old friend!" Morgan took the opportunity to introduce him.

Upon hearing this name, Lin Tian was stunned for a moment, then immediately put on a solemn expression and carefully sized up the round-faced gentleman in front of him.

Andrew Carnegie!

The future super steel tycoon!

This person's fame wasn't that great yet, but in another ten or twenty years, he would definitely be a super powerhouse on par with Rockefeller and Morgan.

By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Carnegie Steel Company that Andrew Carnegie built with his own hands would become the world's largest steel overlord.

He would employ over twenty thousand workers and use the world's most advanced steelmaking equipment.

The steel produced in a single year would be more than the total annual output of the entire United Kingdom!

The annual profit would reach as high as forty million dollars.

By the first year of the 20th century, the output of Carnegie Steel Company would already account for one-quarter of the total steel sales in the USA.

At his peak, his net worth would almost catch up to Rockefeller.

However, Lin Tian knew very clearly that there was an unresolvable blood feud between Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller.

Back when Rockefeller was first starting out, he had a major battle with the railroad tycoon Scott.

Rockefeller used various ruthless business tactics, forcibly driving Scott into a dead end, and eventually, he died in depression.

And this Scott was precisely Andrew Carnegie's mentor and business guide.

From then on, Andrew Carnegie swore a poisonous oath to take revenge on Rockefeller.

He held onto one conviction: to completely defeat Rockefeller, he had to surpass him in wealth and replace him as the richest man in the USA!

By the beginning of the 20th century, Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller had clashed countless times in the business world, playing dirty against each other.

Although in the end, Andrew Carnegie couldn't topple Rockefeller, he successfully joined the ranks of the top tycoons, gaining the qualification to compete on the same stage as Rockefeller and Morgan.

But in Lin Tian's view, Andrew Carnegie's thinking was purely making a mountain out of a molehill.

He always believed in a famous quote by Rockefeller:

"I do not welcome competition, I destroy competitors. The person who can identify the enemy's flaws first and strike a fatal blow is the true winner!"