Philanthropy's pied piper

PASSING the Bird's Nest - the most iconic of Beijing's Olympic legacies - Jackie Chan was hunkered down in the back of a blacked-out Bentley Mulsanne. His handmade green velvet Mao suit seemed to be in a tactile tug-of-war with acres of hand-stitched black leather upholstery. It was how one might expect the most famous man on the planet to travel to a charity auction.

His No 1 spot in global recognition was not his claim. It came from US talk show legend Jay Leno. "I was in Jay Leno's show," Chan recalled in his unique style of English. "He say, now - ladies and gentleman, the most famous star in the world: Jackie Chan. Then I come out, I say no, no, no, no, no. Jay, I'm not the most famous. There's so many famous stars in America. He said Jackie, you're wrong."

Leno was right. Presidents Obama and Hu Jintao famously locked words over Chan at the White House when both tried to claim his fame for their own. Chan had been invited to Washington for a Chinese state visit, but ended up in a cultural claim of ownership instead.