When his older brother John Carnegie died in 1595, he became laird of Kinnaird.
[3] In December 1593, Carnegie was appointed to a committee to audit the account of money spent by the Chancellor, John Maitland of Thirlestane, on the royal voyages.
The funds in question came from the English subsidy and the dowry of Anne of Denmark.
[4] He was an auditor of the Scottish exchequer in 1595 and joined the government finance committee known as the Octavians in 1596.
She was taken from the house of the merchant Robert Jousie by the courtiers John Wemyss of Logie and Sir James Sandilands of Slamannan.