a philanthropist
- someone who believes in helping people, especially by
giving money to those who
need it
to go from rags to riches
- to rise from poverty to great wealth
prominent
- important; famous
1
Discuss the questions with a partner.
Do you know any famous philanthropists? Who are they and what have they done for
others?
2
Read the text and answer the question.
What did these two philanthropists have in common?
Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, who was one of the greatest philanthropists of Azerbaijan,
went from rags to riches. His father was a shoemaker
and could hardly make a living for his family. When Zeynalabdin was 10 years old, he decided
to help his father and started to work as a bricklayer. He earned six kopeks a day then.
However, at the age of 35, the land that he had brought him luck, when the oil started to
gush. So, Taghiyev became one of the wealthiest oil barons in Baku.
He was very rich, but he did not forget the poor, the orphan and the hungry. He was the
person who built the first secular school for women in the Muslim East. The school building,
which was completed in April 1901, became one of the best sights in Baku. 58 girls who were
aged from 7 to 11 started school, 35 of whom were from poor families and studied there for
free.
Taghiyev was a true lover of his people. He paid for the studies of the young people who
were studying at various universities abroad. Some of the students later became prominent
politicians and scientists. Taghiyev also participated in fundraising for the construction
of a mosque in St Petersburg, which was the largest in Europe.
Andrew Carnegie, who was one of the world's richest men, made a fortune in the oil
industry.
Andrew Carnegie, whose formal education ended when he left Scotland, found a job in a
cotton factory in Pittsburgh at the age of 14. He earned $1.20 a week.
However, hard work showed its result and Carnegie soon became rich.
Some memories from his childhood were so strong that he couldn’t forget those days. For
example, he often remembered the day when he was not allowed to enter the library because it
was for members only. His biggest dream was to build free public libraries and give everyone
the opportunity to use them. So, Carnegie started to build free libraries. Before he died,
there were more than 2,500 public libraries, which were located in the English-speaking
world.