Depends. Carnegie is remembered more than, say, Jay Gould (the industrial magnate) or commodore vanderbilt. I suspect how well an individual remembers him has a

Depends. Carnegie is remembered more than, say, Jay Gould (the industrial magnate) or commodore vanderbilt. I suspect how well an individual remembers him has a lot to do with whether they like libraries and have been to a Carnegie library. In other words, he's remembered to the extent he made a lasting impact. (For most people I agree this isn't a large extent) So, the question with Gates is whether he manages to fund something that materially changes the world in a way people in the future will remember. Saving some lives? Probably not that meaningful 100 years from now. Funding a technology that solves climate change and/or provides cheap clean energy? People will probably remember. So it's hard to tell. Gates has funding in both areas of potential, and he's taking a very hands on approach to his philanthropy so he's more liable to get some credit, in the same way library afficionados do remember Carnegie.