Jim Rogers, co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros, which returned 4,200% from 1973 to 1980 while the S&P gained about 47%, joins Personable to explain why the market is a cruel teacher, why the crowd moves prices more than the truth does, and why you should never accept that the sky is blue until you've looked out the window yourself. In this episode, Jim goes back to growing up in a small Alabama town where his phone number was "five," landing a summer job on Wall Street when he thought stocks and bonds were the same thing, getting completely wiped out early in his career, building the Quantum Fund with George Soros, giving Scott Bessent an internship, teaching at Columbia in exchange for lifetime access to the gym, and retiring at 37 to travel the world by motorcycle. This is an essential listen for anyone interested in investing, markets, economic history, geopolitics, contrarian thinking, and finding what you love and having the courage to pursue it. He discusses: ◽️ How losing everything early taught him that markets are driven by millions of people who don't think like you ◽️ Why being right isn't enough if the crowd disagrees, and how to survive until reality catches up ◽️ How he decides whether to stay in a losing trade or cut his losses ◽️ Building the Quantum Fund with George Soros, and why their partnership worked ◽️ Why nearly every stock market hitting new highs at once worries him ◽️ His views on China, agriculture, oil, gold, silver, war and the $40 trillion US debt ◽️ Why he left Wall Street to see the world, and his advice to young people starting out 00:00 Introduction and how Jim got into investing 01:28 From a small town in Alabama to Yale 02:48 The market is a cruel teacher: losing everything 04:09 What changed after he went broke 06:06 When the fundamentals and the crowd disagree 08:28 Fear, greed and human psychology in markets 11:05 Where conviction comes from 11:55 How young people should learn to invest 15:23 When to stay in a trade and when to get out 17:38 Co-founding the Quantum Fund with George Soros 19:55 How the fund returned 4,200% 21:34 Scott Bessent as an intern 22:28 Teaching at Columbia Business School 25:33 Confirming reality and finding good investments 29:20 The biggest opportunities and risks today 34:53 China's recurring rise to the top 37:59 Agriculture and looking where no one else is 39:49 Venezuela, oil, gold and silver 42:03 The Middle East, Russia, Ukraine and war 46:03 Why the US pulled ahead of Europe 50:52 The US debt problem and how it ends 56:32 Mega hedge funds and the danger of overconfidence 59:50 Why he left investing to travel the world 1:02:08 Happiness, advice for 22-year-olds and legacy 1:08:54 The one thing to take away Harvey Bracken-Smith: ◽️ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/harveybracken-smith ◽️ Instagram: https://instagram.com/harveybsmith ◽️ X (Twitter): https://x.com/harveybsmith_ ◽️ Newsletter: https://personable.substack.com/ ◽️ Website: https://www.personable.media/Personable Podcast: ◽️ Instagram: https://instagram.com/personable.podcast ◽️ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/personablepodcast ◽️ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@personableclips ◽️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JOTYDER6m2FDrlhop4api ◽️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/personable/id1671640111 Additional: ◽️ Fundraising: https://www.loulouracefoundation.org/donate Personable is a podcast dedicated to helping listeners become the best they can be by learning from the world's best in their respective fields. This mission is inspired by my mother, Louise, who encouraged me to become the best version of myself before she passed away from cancer in 2023. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Investing involves risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results.
