Today we learned about highly successful industrialists who accumulated large fortunes in the late 18th century, a period known as the "Gilded Age." Many of them were labeled as robber barons. Robber barons such as Andrew Carnegie and his contemporaries like J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Henry Ford were known for their business acumen and monumental achievements in American Capitalism. Many of the barons were also philanthropists who subscribed to the the theory of Reform Darwinism, a belief which promoted the idea that the most fit individuals and businesses in society were worthy of determining where resources such as wealth should be best allocated. As a result, Andrew Carnegie and many of the other robber barons donated vast amounts to various causes, projects, and charities which they believed would promote the betterment of society.