A billionaire philanthropist's passion for paying it forward

 Giving back to society

The incident that inspired him to become a philanthropist took place in 1999 when he donated a wheelchair to an elderly man in a Romanian village. Touched by the sight of the man's teary display of gratitude and a relief that he could finally leave his home and be with his friends, Behring became inspired to do more to give back to society.

"It was the first time in my life that I realized such a small thing like a wheelchair could change one's life and bring them freedom and the courage to live," said Behring.

The incident also spurred Behring to establish the Wheelchair Foundation in California in 2000 and the organization has since donated more than 1 million wheelchairs to people in 155 countries.

In 2001, Behring established a partnership with the China Disabled Persons' Federation to help distribute wheelchairs in China. Since then, Behring has distributed more than 325,000 wheelchairs in more than 40 cities and towns in China. Some of the recipients include the 500 survivors of the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake.

"Xie Yanhong, a man from Dalian, Liaoning province, received a wheelchair from me in 2003 and he started to pursue his passion for swimming. One year later, he became the first disabled Chinese person to swim across the English Channel," said Behring when asked if there have been memorable incidents.

Together with local governments, Behring has also launched a safe drinking water project in Northwestern China to help eliminate waterborne diseases and impurities by carrying out feasibility studies and purchasing water purification systems.

"My goal is to start a movement, and have everyone start helping each other."