An old Chinese saying goes, "When you drink from the well, don't forget the people who dug it." It is a philosophy fully embraced by Badro, a rags-to-riches businessman and philanthropist.

Born to a poor family in the Tibet autonomous region's Lhunze county, by age 18, Badro was a high school dropout working as a laborer, making the equivalent of only 15 US cents a day.

"I lived in a shelter I'd made from plastic sheeting. Sometimes, it was so cold at night I couldn't fall asleep, so I'd work at night and sleep during the day," he said, adding some days he worked 20 hours without food.