Give your money Chennupati Jagadish is one of Australia's leading scientists. Yet he grew up dirt poor in a small village in southern India. In fact, he might never have gone to high school if it weren't for a kind teacher who invited him to live with his family and study. Now, there are plenty of people who get to the top of the tree only to forge

This work is also a quest for answers to a personal question, which, it turns out, is close to Simmel’s question. What causes certain people – often at different stages in their lives – to undertake altruistic, if not saintly, activity, whether through philanthropy, social work, NGO activism or political resolve?