captioning funded by cbs and ford-- built for the road ahead. ( bell tolling ) >> simon: this easter sunday, we're going to take you to a place that is outside of our world, mt. athos, the place millions believe to be the most sacred spot on earth. >> ( chanting ) >> you have to understand, the words that we're saying in today's liturgy are the same words that christ was saying. >> simon: and nothing has changed in orthodoxy since then.

there are 20 monasteries here spread over 130 miles of peninsula. this one fits like a crown on a rock above the aegean, and the monks will tell you it must be considered a miracle that it hasn't fallen into the sea. they will also tell you their sole passion is to get closer to christ every day. >> ( chanting ) >> ...and eli and your lovely wife. >> safer: eli broad may be very rich, but he says he want to die poor. to achieve that, he gives money away by the bucket-load; half a billion dollars so far to los angeles-- to disney hall, the l.a. opera, the museum of contemporary art, three scientific research centers. and he puts his name on almost all of them. you want the world to know about it by putting your name on all the things you do support.

>> i don't keep it a secret, that's for sure. >> i'm steve kroft. >> i'm lesley stahl. >> i'm bob simon. >> i'm morley safer. >> i'm lara logan. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories tonight on "60 minutes." if you want to feed them right, wear them out, or clean them up, you can find exactly what you need during the petsmart everything spring sale. save $5 on select nutro® natural choice dog food bags including new grain-free formula. at petsmart. [ male announcer ] ten people are going to win the chevrolet, buick, gmc or cadillac of their choice. push your onstar button and you could be one of them. even if you're not an onstar customer. ♪ just push your blue button and tell the advisor you want to enter the onstar push on sweepstakes. ♪ but do it soon. no purchase necessary.

see rules at onstar.com to enter without a blue onstar button. i was told to begin my aspirin regimen. i just didn't listen until i almost lost my life. my doctor's again ordered me to take aspirin. and i do. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ mike ] listen to the doctor. take it seriously. ♪ [ female announcer ] mini, meet berries. introducing new kellogg's frosted mini-wheats with a touch of fruit in the middle. helloooooo fruit in the middle. you know that comes with a private island. really? no. it comes with a hat. you see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it?

but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow. [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's okay. i've played a pilot before. >> simon: tonight on this easter sunday, we're going to take you to a place outside our world. it's not mars or venus, but it might as well be. it's a remote peninsula in northern greece that millions believe to be the most sacred spot on earth.

it's called mt. athos, and prayers have been offered here every day, with no interruption, for more than a thousand years. it was set aside by ancient emperors to be the spiritual capitol of orthodox christianity, and has probably changed less over the centuries than any other inhabited place on the planet. the monks come here from all over and do everything they can to keep what they call "the world" far away. not surprisingly, journalists are not exactly welcome. for more than two years now, we've been corresponding, negotiating and, frankly, pleading for an invitation, but ran into one monastic wall after another. then, much to our surprise and delight, a few months ago, the monks said, "okay, come see who we are." this byzantine cross marks the border between mt. athos and the 21st century.

the monks come here, as they always have, for the beauty, the tranquility, and the isolation, but most of all, for this. >> ( chanting ) >> simon: father iakovos is one of a few americans on the mountain. he's been here more than half his life. >> father iakavos: you have to understand, the words that we're saying in today's liturgy are the same words that christ was saying, the same words that saints from the first century, the second century, the third century, the fourth century... >> simon: and nothing has changed in orthodoxy since then. it's the only branch of christianity that can make that claim. father elisaios is the abbot, the top man at simonos petras,

one of the 20 monasteries. it was abbot elisaios who invited us here, and never let us forget what a rare privilege it was. >> father elisaios ( translated ): it happened once, in 1981. >> simon: the last time you invited a television crew here was 1981. >> elisaios: correct. we weren't going to invite you, but your persistence convinced us to open the door. ( bell rings ) >> simon: the door he opened revealed the wonder that is simonos petras, which fits like a crown on top of a rock 800 feet above the aegean. it was built in the 14th century, and the monks will tell you it must be considered a miracle that it hasn't fallen into the sea. ( bells ring ) there are 20 monasteries on mt. athos.

some look like medieval fortresses; others are so large, they resemble small cities. they rise from virgin forests and line the coast, shrouded in mist. there's nothing on this 130- square-mile peninsula other than monasteries and monks. nothing. we expected mt. athos to be a quiet place, but we couldn't have imagined how quiet until we were dropped off here. the silence is only broken by the occasional tapping on a chiseled piece of chestnut. it is a call to prayer, and it started being used here before there were bells. >> father serapion ( translated ): the monks here have one goal, and that is how to get closer to god. >> simon: father serapion wanted us to understand that there is no place on earth closer to heaven than mt. athos.

>> serapion: every day, a thousand divine liturgies are celebrated on the peninsula. it's unique in the world, and in the orthodox church. >> simon: exactly what makes it unique? >> serapion: it's the absolute way of life of the monks. >> simon: it's a spartan way of life, but all the monks we talked to said they never want to leave, not even for a day. so they try to be self- sufficient; they grow their own fruits and vegetables, do their own tailoring. and when they get sick, there's an in-monastery doctor, father ermolaos, who is not very busy because the monks are in excellent shape. there's remarkably little cancer, virtually no heart disease or alzheimer's. they must be doing something right, in addition to drinking wine at 9:00 in the morning. they eat two meals a day. there's what they call "the first meal," which lasts ten

minutes, and "the second meal," which lasts ten minutes. there's no meat and no dinner table conversation. the only sound-- a monk reading from sacred texts. we were surprised by how busy the monks are. when they're not praying, they're working. father thedosios, born a lutheran in germany, is a mechanical wizard, who has given the monastery continuous electricity and occasional hot water. >> father thedosios: many christians in the world, they are looking for the original church, you know, for the ancient church. >> simon: you think this is the closest to the original church? >> thedosios: yes. when you come to orthodoxy, you will see, it has everything you ever sought for. >> simon: father averkios takes care of the ancient footpaths here. he clears the trails. we went with him on what was, for us, an exhausting hike on the hills above the monastery. it wasn't tough for him, though. he says that, after decades of roaming the world, this is his

path. >> father averkios: i've been to many places. >> simon: tell me where? >> averkios: from switzerland, of course, from sweden, finland, spain, portugal, singapore, australia, and texas... >> simon: texas? how did you like texas? >> averkios: i liked very much. i liked, mostly, the people. >> simon: now, with all the traveling you've done, how did you end up here? >> averkios: i was searching for a way of life i can give all of myself to that. and i think the god of jesus is above all the others: money, lifestyle, even family. >> simon: the family at simonos petras consists of 54 monks from eight countries. father iakavos came here 25 years ago from winthrop, massachusetts. this is about as beautiful as it gets. >> iakovos: i think so. >> simon: he took us on a tour of the monastery. it would be tough enough to build a monastery on top of a rock today, but how did they do

it in the 13th century? >> iakovos: you know, that's something which even modern-day architects are amazed at, when the workers came and saw the site where st. simon, the founder of our monastery, wanted to build, they looked at him and the said... >> simon: are you crazy? >> iakovos: are you crazy? ( laughs ) of course. >> simon: so being crazy was not a bad thing. >> iakovos: not at all. >> simon: back then, how did you get stuff up here? >> iakovos: we had mules. >> simon: it takes 15 minutes to walk through the monastery into the sunlight, enough time to find out that father iakavos' journey to mt. athos started at the age of six when his father showed him a picture. >> iakovos: it was just so impressive, and i turned around and i said to him, "dad, you know, i don't think that i'm going to be able to believe that somebody lives in that building until i step on those balconies myself." >> simon: destiny? >> iakovos: it is a little bit... >> simon: from the age of six? >> iakovos: yes.

>> simon: father iakovos doesn't follow what's going on in winthrop or anywhere else today. there are no newspapers, no radio, no television on mt. athos. there are a few telephones. and father iakavos got a call last year-- his father was dying. >> iakovos: prior to his death, he was asking if i would go, so i could see him one last time. >> simon: reasonable request. >> iakovos: from a father, i think so. my response was negative, though. >> simon: you didn't go? >> iakovos: i didn't go. i didn't go because of the fact that monastics do not go to funerals of their relatives or their friends. they remain here at the monastery. >> simon: when your father asked you to come see him one last time, and you said no, was there any feeling of "i'm letting my father down"? >> iakovos: not at all. i know that we're going to see each other in paradise one day. >> simon: the whole idea at mt. athos is not only to isolate oneself from the outside world, but to let go of all memories of

one's past life. the purpose of your being here, as i understand it, is prayer without distraction? >> iakovos: i'm not being distracted now. ( laughter ) >> simon: why are you laughing? first, tell me why you're laughing? >> iakovos: why am i laughing? because st. paul says, "we're to pray unceasingly." >> simon: what's funny about that? >> iakovos: that's not what's funny about it. what's funny is how you think i can stop praying. >> simon: you're praying every minute of the day? >> iakovos: even right now when we're talking. >> simon: really? >> iakovos: of course. >> simon: you don't see father iakovos praying while he's talking, but look at these other monks. their lips never stop moving, not for a second. they just keep reciting the jesus prayer day and night-- "lord jesus, have mercy on me."

it becomes like breathing. some monks say they can pray when they sleep, and they get no more than three hours sleep a night. but mt. athos gets more applicants than it can handle. it's harder to get into than harvard. a man comes as a novice. he's free to leave if he doesn't like it, and the monks can tell him to leave if they don't like him. when a novice arrives here, can you tell whether he's going to make it or not? can you tell whether he's going to qualify to be a monk? >> serapion ( translated ): after a while, it becomes pretty obvious whether or not someone is cut out for it, which is why we have a trial period, which can last up to three years. >> simon: i bet you know a lot sooner than three years. >> serapion: certainly. >> simon: once he's accepted into the community, it's a lifetime commitment. and life never changes here-- never.

every day at 3:00 in the morning, a single bell rings, informing the brothers that it's time to stop praying on their own and start praying in church. on a typical day-- and every day is a typical day-- the services last eight hours. the monks say it's an eight-hour conversation with god, a dress rehearsal for eternity. and remember, this doesn't only happen on sundays; it happens every day, 365 days a year. a monk never gets a day off. this is the divine liturgy, the life of christ, celebrated by men whose only passion is to move closer to christ every day. the depth of their devotion defies description. they didn't look like the same

monks we had met in the gardens and the workshops. they were utterly transformed, with a concentration so profound, they were immune from distraction. there were occasional flashes of ecstasy. this old monk could have risen out of a rembrandt. ( chanting ) there are no musical instruments in the church, just chanting-- chanting without end. ( chanting ) many of the voices-- the basses, in particular-- could have made it at the met.

( chanting ) we didn't understand the words; we didn't really have to. this phrase we knew-- "lord have mercy." ( chanting ) the most miraculous thing about mt. athos, when we return. >> mitchell: good evening. easter spending is up 10.5% over

last year. the best showing since 2008. wal-mart will test home delivery of items ordered online. gas is an average $3.88 a gallon, rising 12 cents in two weeks, and "rio" rolled again at the box office. i'm russ mitchell, cbs news. my doctor suggested spiriva right then.

>> simon: the most miraculous thing about mt. athos may simply be the fact that it's still there. over the centuries, it has been invaded by crusaders, ottomans, mercenaries, pirates and franks. the nazis had their eyes on it, too. the 2,000 monks attribute their survival, not surprisingly, to divine intervention. but they've also been pretty crafty. some of the measures they've taken will surprise you. if you'd like to come for a visit, though, it can be arranged. but it's not easy. first, you'll need a visa issued by the monks.

and unless you're an orthodox pilgrim, it can take a while. next, you'll fly to athens and make your way to a scruffy little town in northern greece where there's no airport and where the roads are dicey. then, you'll hop on a ferry, unless the trip has been cancelled because of rough seas. that happens all the time, but on a calm day, it can be a very pleasant ride. the monks will tell you it takes years of prayer and soul- searching before they're ready to leave the world for mt. athos. for the likes of us, though, it takes little more than an hour. it was the beginning of lent when we took these pictures, and the ferry was packed with pilgrims from all over the orthodox christian world-- greeks, bulgarians, serbs, romanians, russians. it wasn't long before the first monasteries came into view and we thought we were sailing to byzantium, to a fantasy land of castles and palaces.

( bells ring ) we were headed for vatopedi, one of the oldest and largest monasteries on mt. athos. it had the feel of a medieval city. holiness seemed to seep from the very stones; from the frescoes on the 10th-century church; from the marble font for holy water. but then, there was the monastery's secular-looking centerpiece. there's nothing remarkable about the clock tower at the vatopedi monastery, except for one thing. check out the time-- it's just about 8:30. now, my watch reads 2:30. that's a six-hour difference, and there's nothing wrong with their clock or with my watch. it's because the monks on mt. athos keep byzantine time.

the day starts at sunset, not at midnight. the monks measured time this way during the days of the byzantine empire. that's the christian empire that followed the fall of rome. and that's the flag they still fly here today. how long ago did the byzantine empire fall? >> serapion ( translated ): 1453. that's a well-known fact. >> simon: well, it wasn't to us. but to father serapion, 1453 is the day before yesterday. this peninsula is the only place in the world that still keeps byzantine time. >> serapion: it has maintained this time for some 550 years. >> simon: it was harvest time when we arrived, and dozens of monks were hard at work in the olive groves on the hills overlooking the monastery. that's where we ran into father nikandros from melbourne, australia. >> father nikandros: this place

looks like a... like a summer resort. >> simon: sure does. >> nikandros: like a retreat, but it's not. it's an arena. >> simon: what do you mean, it's an arena? >> nikandros: unseen warfare. >> simon: unseen warfare? >> nikandros: that's right. >> simon: what does that mean? >> nikandros: we fight against the angels of... of the dark side, you see; of the demon, of the devil, satan. >> simon: the battle against satan and the dark side is waged here every day. ( chanting ) the spiritual leader at vatopedi is abbot efraim. >> abbot efraim ( translated ): here, the life in christ is experienced in a genuine way. and this doesn't happen in many other places in the world. what i'm talking about is the art of salvation. >> simon: it just so happened that, while we were there, the monks celebrated an elaborate seven-hour vigil. and the church was packed with pilgrims.

it's held once a year to honor the archangels gabriel and michael. according to the bible, gabriel and michael led the army of angels that expelled satan from heaven. the church's relics are brought out every day, and pilgrims ask for the blessings of the saints. the most sacred relic on the entire peninsula is in this case-- fabric said to be part of a garment worn by the virgin mary. the irony is that, while the mother of god is revered here, no other woman is permitted to even set foot on mt. athos. it's been like that for a thousand years. the reason for the ban, according to orthodox doctrine, is that christ gave the peninsula to his mother, and all other women have been excluded so as to fully honor the virgin

mary. it's also said that, in the days before the ban when women did come here, the monks became distracted and couldn't devote themselves entirely to prayer. they say it's been a lot easier since the last lady left. keeping women out certainly wasn't much of a problem 300, 400 years ago. do you feel that's becoming problematic today? >> father arsenios: i don't believe so, because the monastery itself and all the land around it is our property. and if we don't want women coming onto our property, we have every right to do that. ( chanting ) >> simon: mt. athos may be the last all-male bastion in the world, and father arsenios says it has to stay that way. >> arsenios: here, we're concerned solely with purity and our elevation to eternity. if women are permitted, they would bring their families and their children.

this place would become a tourist attraction and no longer a place of silence. >> simon: if we wanted to experience profound silence, we were advised to go to stavronika. it's the smallest monastery on the mountain, but has some of the most remarkable treasures. you stain the silence just by walking in. there's no electricity here, so the icons and mosaics are illuminated only by shafts of sunlight and a few candles: st. nicolas, the patron saint; john the baptist; and the virgin mary. we were stunned by the magnificence of the art here. but then we ran into father maximos, a former professor at the harvard divinity school. he told us what we were looking at cannot be described as art. >> father maximos: they're devotional objects, and they're part of the living liturgical life of the church. so we don't have any art and

we're not a museum, i mean, to... to put it starkly. >> simon: whatever you call it, it's priceless. that's why the monasteries have been invaded and plundered so many times over the centuries. the monks most recent brush with history happened only 70 years ago. the nazis were coming their way. >> maximos: in the spring of 1941, the germans invaded and occupied greece. >> simon: they marched up the acropolis, raised the swastika beside the parthenon, and were about to invade. the monks asked for a meeting with nazi officers, who advised them to appeal to hitler himself. and the monks wrote a letter to hitler? >> maximos: a letter was written, and in the letter, the monks identified themselves. they said, "this is who we are." and they... they asked hitler to place the holy mountain under his personal protection. >> simon: what kind of response did you get?

>> maximos: well, it seems that hitler liked the idea, and accepted the invitation to become the personal protector of the holy mountain. >> simon: let me just get that straight-- hitler, the personal protector of the holy mountain? >> maximos: that's right. that's right. >> simon: hitler did send a team of german academics to mt. athos. they took 1,800 pictures of the mountain's treasures, and it wasn't because they enjoyed photography. hitler wanted the monastery's riches in berlin. >> maximos: the professors were sent as an advance team to catalogue the treasures of the holy mountain so that a selection of things could be made to be removed, so... >> simon: didn't happen, did it? >> maximos: no, it didn't. not a single thing was taken. >> simon: father maximos believes they have the russians to thank for that-- that by the time the nazi scholars completed their work, hitler was bogged down in russia and wasn't thinking about icons. that nazi period has been

largely forgotten here. to the monks, it was just one more blip on the road, and a small one at that. today, vatopedi is the most popular destination on the mountain. it hosts 35,000 pilgrims a year and offers more than spiritual sustenance. the monks have their own fishing boats and the catch is pretty good. the fish are served fresher than in any greek restaurant. the refectory dates from the 12th century, and since the 12th century, the food here has been free. vatopedi has been supported by rich benefactors, emperors, princes, kings and, today, partially by pilgrims with deep pockets who commission icons in the making. but the ancient treasures? not a chance. they can't even see them. they're under lock and key. it's not a new security system, but it works. normally, it takes more than one

monk to unlock the door, because no one monk is allowed to have all four keys at the same time. it's sort of a medieval version of the nuclear launch control. do you keep those keys in your pocket, father? >> father matthew: i try not to. >> simon: father mathew, from fond du lac, wisconsin, was given the abbot's blessing to let us into the inner sanctum. once inside, there's still another hidden door. >> matthew: behind the curtain... >> simon: we walked into the world of byzantium. it was hard to imagine that everything here was at least 600 years old, because the brilliance had not faded. there are almost 4,000 icons stored in this monastery alone-- the highlight, a 14th-century icon of christ. every monk will tell you the sole purpose of life on mt. athos is to get closer to christ every day.

and they say total union with christ is only possible when they leave this world. >> serapion: the first thing a monk does is embrace and love death. >> simon: "embrace and love death"? >> serapion: because death is the ticket to the other life. without a ticket, you can't travel. >> simon: where do you get the ticket? >> serapion: in this life. that's what we do each day-- we prepare for death. and we are joyful about our journey to heaven. >> simon: father mathew offered to take us to the transit point between this world and heaven. when a monks dies, he's buried, until there's nothing left but bones. then, he's brought to where every monk who's ever lived here ends up-- the ossuary. any idea how many skulls there are here? >> matthew: thousands. i'm not sure how many thousands. >> simon: any idea how far they go back? >> matthew: the ones here would be to the 16th century.

>> simon: when you look at the ossuary, what comes to mind? >> matthew: mostly, i see that this is where i'm going to be. i always like to say these are my future roommates. >> simon: there was nowhere for us to go from there, so we headed back to the mainland. the monks invited us to come back any time, and if we do-- or if our grandsons or great- grandsons do-- after ten days here, this much we believe: mt. athos will not have changed at all. >> go to 60minutesovertime.com to see the challenges of scaling and shooting a story on mt. athos. if your racing thoughts keep you awake... sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested.

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>> safer: in this era of belt tightening, it's kind of refreshing to take a look at people who's happiest pastime is to give money away. such a man is 77-year-old eli broad, a self-made billionaire, art collector and, for the past ten years, one of the most consistently generous philanthropists in america, supporting education reform, medical research, and the arts, who also wants to transform that sprawling monster of a city-- los angeles-- into a cultural capital. eli broad thinks big, but his critics say he can act very small, that he may give billions away, but he tries to micromanage almost every dollar he gives. eli broad doesn't really care what they say; all he wants to do is die poor. well, relatively poor. >> eli broad: i believe in two things: one, andrew carnegie

said, "he who dies with wealth dies in shame." and someone once said, "he who gives while he lives also knows where it goes." >> safer: there's no one quite so civic minded in america. eli broad and his wife, edye, have become paparazzi pets because of the money they lavish on los angeles; so far, more than half a billion dollars. who says money can't buy you love? >> ...and eli and your lovely wife. >> safer: behold his footprint on los angeles. he's a driving force behind 16 major public institutions. in the center of downtown, a cultural corridor anchored by the magnificent disney hall, home of the los angeles philharmonic. ♪ ♪ next to it, the home of the los angeles opera, the museum of contemporary art, the high school for the performing arts,

and the school of music. in greater los angeles, three scientific research centers, a theater, an art center, and another contemporary art museum. he puts his name on almost all of them. you said that your sense of being a wealthy man actually increased the more you gave money away? >> broad: i think it's true. i don't feel i'm here to just maintain the status quo; i'm here to make things better or different. >> safer: and you want the world to know about it by putting your name on all the things you do support. >> broad: i don't keep it a secret, that's for sure. >> safer: broad took us to grand avenue... this is quite a vista. ...which he plans to transform into a vibrant city center rivaling new york's museum mile. disney hall, designed by frank gehry, almost did not get built. broad rescued the project by putting up his own money and putting the squeeze on fellow plutocrats.

>> broad: it's really become the symbol of our city. >> safer: and then, there's his own museum, the broad. this is a rendering. it's still a parking lot, but it will eventually hold his $1.6 billion art collection. how much is this going to cost, something approaching a billion dollars? >> broad: more. >> safer: more? >> broad: more. >> safer: we were interrupted by an angeleno driving by. >> eli, buy the dodgers. buy the dodgers! >> safer: "eli, buy the dodgers." you could be the george steinbrenner of los angeles? >> broad: oh, no, no, no. i've got enough on my plate. >> safer: broad runs his philanthropic foundation like a for-profit business, not a charity. charity, he says, is just writing checks; he practices what he calls "venture philanthropy." >> broad: we don't give it away, we invest it. and we want a return. remember, i started work as a c.p.a., so that gave me fiscal discipline in everything i did

in business. i guess some of it carries over to philanthropy. >> mayor michael bloomberg: eli broad says, "i want results, and if you're not going to show me results, i'm not going to give you the money. and incidentally, after one year, if you don't show me the results, i'm going to stop funding you." >> safer: new york mayor michael bloomberg, no mean philanthropist himself, admires broad's un-cuddly approach and the $32 million he's given to new york schools. >> bloomberg: eli broad sets the standard. i think it's really being a role models for others. and they look at eli, and because of him, they get the idea of "i'm going to be innovative and be philanthropic and... and do some other things." the leverage of eli broad is really quite amazing. >> safer: amazing to the extent of almost half a billion dollars he's poured into improving public education. he spends even more on medical research. eight years ago, he teamed up with harvard and m.i.t. to create-- you guessed it-- the broad institute, in cambridge, massachusetts.

the broad is the world's leading genomic medicine institute. all discoveries are free, available to anyone. let me be rude and ask-- how much have you put into this institute? >> broad: $600 million total. >> safer: broad grew up in detroit, the only child of immigrant shopkeepers. at 21, he married edye lawson. >> broad: we borrowed $25,000 from her parents. >> safer: and that $25,000 led ultimately to? >> broad: a lot of money. >> safer: in 1957, broad and a partner launched a no frills home building business. he was a millionaire by 27. he bought sun life insurance in 1971, and sold it in 1999 for $18 billion. and that's when he and edye decided to give most of it away. you're giving 75% of your wealth away? >> broad: maybe more, by the time it's over. >> safer: or maybe more? you have two children? >> broad: yes

>> safer: what about them? >> broad: they're well taken care of. they're different than their dad. >> safer: different how? >> broad: they don't have, frankly, the ambition to build a great business that i had. >> safer: you've been open about admitting that you were not a great father. >> broad: look, when i started, it was 24/7, as they say, and i didn't spend enough time with the kids when they were growing up. i admit that. >> safer: is that something you regret now? >> broad: i do, to some degree. we all go back and would do things over differently in our lives. >> safer: today, broad balances his life with his passion for contemporary art, like this richard serra sculpture. >> broad: civilizations are not remembered by their business people, their bankers or lawyers; they're remembered by the arts. >> safer: he's collected over 2,000 works of art. unlike most collectors, almost all of broad's art is available for loan to museums. he loaned these pieces to the

l.a. county museum of art, and threw in a $50 million building to house them. one of his favorite artist is the irrepressible jeff koons, and here, a veritable cornucopia of koonsian genius-- all, of course, painted and sculpted by hired craftsmen. koons is nothing if not worshipful of eli broad. >> jeff koons: you know, morley and eli, i just have to say, standing here, what a fantastic location. i mean, look at the natural light that is coming in on these works. it's a tremendous gallery. >> safer: and the balloon dog, what does it do to you? do you get some kind of emotional kick? >> broad: i do. it makes me smile, it makes me feel good, it make me proud, and it especially makes me proud when i see young people and others looking at the work. and it introduces them to art in a way that no other work really does. >> safer: and a piece that quite

honestly mystifies me-- michael jackson and his chimp, is it? >> koons: michael jackson and bubbles. when i made this series-- the banality series... >> safer: series of banality? >> koons: of images. i was trying to communicate to people that, whatever you respond to, it's perfect. >> safer: if you find koons's "art speak" incomprehensible, well, just wait. >> koons: these are to make references to be in the womb a little bit, before birth, and prior to any kind of concept of death. >> safer: do you totally get what he's talking about? >> broad: not to the extent that jeff does, but i do listen and understand and learn from the artists, especially jeff. >> safer: but not all artists are as respectful as jeff koons. take architect frank gehry. >> frank gehry: eli is a control freak. i worked on a house for him. i didn't want to do it. >> safer: why didn't you want to do it? >> gehry: i just told him i didn't like him.

he said, "you'll learn to like me." >> safer: broad fired gehry, then built the house anyway using gehry's drawings. >> broad: after two years and seven different models, i was impatient. i think he wanted to spend another year or two designing it. and i said, "frank, a work of art is never finished, it's only abandoned." >> safer: they worked together again three years later to build disney hall. and once again, broad fired gehry. but he had to eat humble pie when the disney family insisted that he hire gehry back. >> gehry: we did it; we built it. we weren't friends. >> safer: you've made your peace with him at the same time you've...? >> gehry: i won't do a project for him, that's true. >> christopher knight: eli's middle name is "strings attached"-- eli "strings attached" broad. >> safer: christopher knight, the art critic for the "los angeles times," has been broad watching for years. >> knight: he's a first- generation, male, self-made gazillionaire, and people in

that category typically believe, and with good evidence, that they know how to make something a success. and that can be a problem. >> safer: with science, broad leaves the details to the experts. but when he dangles his money and his art in front of most major museums in l.a., he sees himself as the expert, and if they don't play, he won't pay. >> broad: well, i am a perfectionist, and things i do know something about, i do get involved. >> safer: we've talked to a number of people who say that you can turn into a bully? >> broad: i don't think i am a bully. but on the other hand, i'm not a potted plant, either. >> safer: no, i am sure you're not a potted plant. but these people who say some pretty unkind things about you will not talk publicly. they clearly are scared of you. >> broad: i don't know why they're scared of me.

>> safer: well because you're a rich guy, and therefore a powerful guy, and you've got a temper? >> broad: i've got strong views on things. >> safer: but even your good friend frank gehry says, "eli can be a real pain in the ass." >> broad: i can understand why frank could say that, because i am impatient, and patience has its limits. >> bloomberg: number one, it's his money and you don't have to take it, so i'm sympathetic with that. eli is not a micro-manager as much as he has ideas on how you can make society better, and he's devoting his own money to doing it. kind of hard to argue that he doesn't have the right to do it, and you don't have to play the game if you don't want to. >> knight: when you've got one 800-pound gorilla in the room, you're scared to death of the guy. everybody does want something from eli. and since he is the biggest game in town, nobody wants to alienate him. >> i just appreciate you all so much.

>> safer: just watch this crowd at the recent gala for the los angeles museum of contemporary art, which broad bailed out two years ago for $30 million. it was a scrum of culture vultures, fashion victims and art victims, dealers and collectors; a night when skinniness was next only to godliness; when philanthropy and social climbing, self- aggrandizement and greed dissolved into one gigantic air kiss, all under the benevolent eye of that feared and admired dictator, eli broad. beyond the altruistic part of it, ego plays a part in this? >> broad: oh, absolutely. >> safer: a desire to be loved? >> broad: a desire to be respected. i'm not doing these things to become the most popular person in the city; i want to be the most respected person. >> safer: we left him on the roof of his art foundation-- this fully contented man, this master of all he surveys. what's this at the very end

here? i know what this is. >> broad: what is it? >> safer: it's big foot. >> broad: it is big foot. >> safer: and who is the biggest foot in los angeles right now? >> broad: i don't know. i don't think so. >> welcome to the cbs sports update presented by lipitor. brant snedeker wins the hairedage on the third hole of a playoff over luke donald, preventing donald from taking over number one in the world rankings. the second career victory for snedeker, who shot 64 to get into the playoffs. in the nba playoffs, philadelphia forces a game five. the celtics sweep the knicks. and for more sports news and information, go to cbssports.com. jim nantz reporting from south carolina. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me.

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