In the words of Sting, Bobby's frequent travelmate since they met in a Brazilian bar years back, Bobby is "a big brash guy from Boston...an old Nepal hand, flamboyant eccentric, inexhaustible world traveler, and practical philanthropist."

It is a description well-earned. A tough-minded businessman who made a fortune by following his passion, Sager has spent the last decade of his life traveling around the globe giving away his money and using his entrepreneurial and street smarts to make whatever difference he can – in some of the worst areas on the planet. His is a life of extremes. On any given day you might find Bobby living in a tent in Karachi, sharing a toilet with 40 monks in the Himalayas, working alongside President Kagame in Rwanda, or discussing science education with the Dalai Lama in India.

Bobby's adventure began after graduating from college and turning a jewelry-making passion into a mini-fortune. He and his high school sweetheart, Elaine, decided they’d travel the world over and live off the profits. Their savings - which they assumed would last indefinitely - lasted about three years because, as he puts it, “the world was just too fun.” He returned home to Boston and jumped back into the entrepreneur game, becoming President and Partner of Gordon Brothers Group (GBG), a global advisory, acquisition and capital solutions company - and the driving force behind their spectacular growth. The company expanded to over 20 offices in North America, Europe and Asia and acquired or started twelve other companies in just three years. The firm conducts billions of dollars worth of transactions and appraisals annually, making it one of the largest providers of these services in the world.

But Bobby hungered for something more and in 2000, he founded the Sager Family Traveling Foundation and Roadshow. He, along with his wife Elaine, daughter Tess, and son Shane, packed up their things and ventured out into some of the most dangerous places on the planet to make a difference. It quickly became a journey less about giving, than really living. Looking people in the eye, feeling their humanity, and connecting with them on a level they never thought possible – as Bobby puts it, became the greatest “return on investment” imaginable. And while over time their philanthropic bar has remained exceptionally high - focused on empowering leaders and expecting real and measurable results – their hands-on, “eyeball to eyeball” style is the one that has resonated the loudest. Because it's exactly those moments of deep and unexpected human connection that have kept them returning to places again and again over the past 10 years.

Along the way, Bobby also began recruiting other high-powered business leaders to use their considerable skills and rolodexes in the service of something larger through his involvement with the Young Presidents' Organization, which counts among its members over 20,000 leaders in 100 countries. He also began transitioning some of his philanthropy overseas into larger-scale initiatives with far greater reach over the last few years, including becoming the Honorary Consul General to both Rwanda and Nepal, as well as working alongside business leaders and world leaders (in Zimbabwe, Syria and Palestine) to craft re-branding strategies and help stimulate economic growth.

His philosophy that using one's "currency" (time, energy, unique talents), whether it be on large or smaller scale initiatives, remains the same. As he writes in THE POWER OF THE INVISIBLE SUN: "My family and I live close to the ground so that we truly understand what’s going on and so that I can use my entrepreneurial ability, instincts, and tenacity to get really tough stuff done. Money certainly matters, but when we make ourselves the currency, it matters even more."

From the very beginning, Bobby was drawn to photographing children he met in war-torn areas such as Afghanistan, Rwanda, Pakistan, and Palestine. He realized early on that no matter who we are, there is a deep connectedness among all of us, that we're all living under what Sting has called "the same invisible sun, that gives its heat to everyone."

His images are remarkable. In one moment, a trio of boys on a bombed out street in Afghanistan, their eyes haunted and wary. In the next frame, minutes later, they break into uncontrollable giggles, little boys at play, their joy elicited by Bobby's silly - and wholeheartedly human - behind-the-camera antics.

The images found a home on tour with Sting last year, set to the powerful chords and wrenching lyrics of his wistful ode to future peace "Invisible Sun." Millions of people saw the children's faces projected onto giant screens, writ large across the sky, at turns solemn and then exuberant, a hush falling over the crowds as they bore witness to the collective humanity expressed in Bobby's work.

These images will go on to find themselves a growing audience with the POWER OF THE INVISIBLE SUN.

The Sager Family Foundation Initiatives