Jim Beeland Rogers

Fame and fortune: Jim Beeland Rogers
Rogers, who made a fortune with George Soros, wants his children to learn Chinese
im Beeland Rogers
Niall Brady

Jim Beeland Rogers made his money with George Soros by setting up the Quantum fund in 1970. The fund was so successful that 10 years later, at the age of 37, Rogers was rich enough to retire.

A BMW motorcycle fanatic, he has used his retirement to travel widely, including making an around-the-world odyssey that earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records. He chronicled his adventures in two books – Investment Biker and Adventure Capitalist.

Rogers, 65, is a regular commentator in the American media and was guest professor of finance at Columbia University in New York.

He believes that commodities are one of the best investments over time, and that the centre of gravity of the world economy has shifted to Asia, resulting in his decision to resettle in Singapore last year.

How much money do you have in your wallet?

When I’m home in Singapore, I carry anything from S$100 (£36) to S$1,000 to pay for taxis and other cash expenses. I ask my assistant to get me cash when I’m running short.

Are you a cash or card person?

I travel a lot and I use many cards – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club – often for cash advances. Many of my cards are part of airlines’ and hotels’ rewards programmes.

My assistant signs me up for them. I don’t think I’ve ever used any of the points I’ve accumulated. I’ll have to speak to her about that.

Are you a spender or a saver?

I’m a simple person – I don’t have much to spend my money on – so I guess that makes me a saver. I’ve no car, no boats, no private jets. I wear the same clothes I had when I taught at Columbia. Many still fit, I’m happy to say.

How much did you earn last year?

I grew up in Alabama in a family where money wasn’t discussed. My parents and grandparents had a strict rule about it and it’s rubbed off on me. There’s plenty of people on Wall Street and elsewhere who love to brag about what they earn. I’m not one of them.

What property do you own?

None. I sold my home in New York when I moved to Singapore last year and, for now, I’m renting. I’ll probably buy when I find the right place.

I’m of the view that property prices will come down in many parts of the world, including Singapore, so I’m not in a hurry. I don’t like property as an investment – it’s too illiquid and sometimes you can’t sell it at any price.

Where are you investing these days?

I expect the bull market in commodities to run until at least 2020. I’m buying cotton, sugar, coffee and precious metals such as silver and palladium, because their prices haven’t moved as much as other commodities.

The Chinese renminbi is one of the best investments I know. I’m also buying the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc because these currencies have to appreciate in value.

I expect to get out of all of my American assets before the end of the year as I believe the dollar will remain under serious attack.

I’m short-selling US investment banks. All the great excesses of the past 10 years have been in financial services.

How much was in your first pay packet?

When I was five, I began collecting the empty soft drinks bottles that people discarded at baseball games and other sports events. I got 5 cents for 24 bottles.

One night I made $1.15 – it was so much I gave half to my brother. Another night I only made 10 cents – the lady who owned the soft drinks’ concession felt sorry for me and gave me a nickel.

Have you ever been really hard up?

In 1970, when I’d been on Wall Street a few years, I made a bad call on the markets that wiped me out – I almost had to sell my motorcycle.

I saw that a bear market was coming so I bought an option to sell stock. Within four or five months I had tripled my money. I waited for the markets to rally then I sold short – in two months I was wiped out.

It taught me how much I had yet to learn about the markets and about myself. I used to tell my students there was nothing wrong in losing money so long as you make the bad mistakes early on in life when you don’t have much to lose.

What is the most lucrative work you have ever done?

The Quantum fund. I started with nothing and within 10 years I had enough to retire. The fund grew 4,200% in the 10 years when the benchmark S&P 500 index did 47%.

Do you invest in shares?

I still buy shares periodically – I’ve owned some for more than 30 years – but I’m not optimistic about stock markets. I prefer commodities and currencies. I recently bought an exchange-traded fund on the Taiwanese stock market, though. It has traded at a big discount because of the constant threat of war with China. Now it looks like peace for the first time in 60 years.

Are you financially better off than your parents?

Absolutely. I was the oldest of five sons and I saw the financial toll of having that many children in rapid succession. I vowed not to do the same, deciding never to have children. That turned out to be a horrible mistake and I’m overjoyed to have a beautiful daughter, Happy, who is almost five, with another daughter due on Thursday.

What has been your worst investment?

My second marriage. It didn’t last long – just three wasted years.

And your best?

Ensuring my daughter grows up speaking Chinese – it’s the main reason I moved to Asia. Asia is the future. America and Europe are the past.

Do you manage your own financial affairs?

Since I made my money in money, I look after my own. If I’m going to go broke, I want to know why.

What aspect of the taxation system would you change?

I’m a US citizen so I have to pay American taxes even though I don’t live there any more. It’s outrageous. Plenty of US citizens never set foot in America so why do they have to pay tax? They don’t use American highways or schools, yet they have to pay for them.

What is your financial priority?

To ensure my little girls will have enough money. Leaving a lot of money to children may be a mistake, I’m not sure how I’m going to deal with it. I wouldn’t want them driving to university in a Maserati, but since the top speed limit is 90 km/h in Singapore, a Maserati probably wouldn’t be much use to them.

Do you have a money weakness?

My daughter. I employ a governess to teach her Chinese and when we go to the toy store I usually end up buying what she wants.

What is the most important lesson you have learnt about money?

It’s extremely important to work early on in life. It teaches a lot of lessons about life and the world that many people don’t seem to get. I expect my little girls to have jobs when they’re teenagers – babysitting or who knows what. It’s not easy to get money and when you do get it you have to know how to hold on to it.