James Beeland (Jim) Rogers, Jr. was born on October 19, 1942, in Demopolis, Alabama, and spent his childhood in this small town with just under 8,000 residents. At the young age of five, Jim Rogers already demonstrated his business acumen by selling peanuts and collecting deposit bottles. After completing his history studies at Yale University in 1964 and facing some unsuccessful job applications, he received an offer from the investment bank Dominick & Dominick.
Although he initially chose to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford, the officials at Dominick & Dominick allowed him to work in the securities department due to his enthusiasm in advance. This experience sparked Rogers’ interest in financial market analysis. After graduating from the University of Oxford in 1966 and completing two years of military service, the current commodity expert returned to the over-the-counter trading department of Dominick & Dominick.
There, he met George Soros at Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder—a fate that would significantly influence the investment industry. Together, they founded the now legendary hedge fund “Quantum Funds” in 1973.
Jim Rogers: Early Retiree at 37
In the era from 1970 to 1980, the dream team experienced no losing years, increasing the fund’s assets by an impressive +3,365%, while the S&P Composite Index only reached +47%. According to Jim Rogers, a significant part of this success was based on not placing any weight on analyses and opinions on Wall Street. Rogers explained this by saying, “Everyone follows the crowd. No one gets rich doing that. It’s the fast track to bankruptcy.” After a decade of successful collaboration, the then 37-year-old Rogers cashed out his stake of $14 million and retired from active business.
