Alfred Nobel’s 1895 bequest of $2.5 million has grown nearly 200× to over $540m, funding $12m a year in Nobel Prizes and costs entirely from investment returns.

to win over or make peace with; to calm hostility.

cheerful readiness or eagerness to respond or act.

a journey, especially a long or meandering one; travelling from place to place.

Showing great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.

likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing.

stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.

(formal) slow or reluctant to act; medically: constipated.

calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation.

belittling or humiliating oneself.

necessary for a particular purpose; required or essential.