Rogers has been retired since 1980 and invests only his own money. He co-founded George Soros’ Quantum Fund, and is also known for his prescient 1998 call to invest in commodities. He is the author of the best seller Investment Biker, as well as Hot Commodities and Adventure Capitalist. Rogers’ latest book, A Bull in China, will be published in December, 2007.
Were you a bull or bear?
I was on TV and in the press for several weeks in advance warning it was coming. I had lots of shorts. I knew it would be bad, but I did not know it would be the worst day in stock market history.
What do you remember most?
I was surprised that so many of my shorts were covered. It was my birthday, which I had scheduled to celebrate with friends that night. It was the best birthday ever.
What’s different now?
There is even more leverage in the system so we will have a gigantic crash eventually.
Lessons learned:
First, it reconfirmed always to be hedged. Second, that’s when I realized for sure that Greenspan had no clue about the markets, the world, or the economy.
