When asked by a reporter of My Paper about his worst and best investments, American investor Jim Rogers, who has been residing in Singapore since 2007, minced no words. He said “My worst was my first wife, a total waste of my time.” (My Paper, May 7th.)
Wow, suddenly because of his straight talking, I have new-found respect for this arrogant and smart-alecky shorty. Well done, Mr Rogers! Straight from the shoulder, huh? I like that! Indeed, far too many people are unable to wrangle themselves out of relationships they are trapped in.
He went on to say “My best investment are my two girls…I am spending a huge amount of time and money and energy on them, they are my very best investments. I hope they are going to take care of me some day.”
I wouldn’t bet on that! If Rogers, who’s 70, is hoping that his girls – who are still very young, I believe one is 10 and the other only 5 – will take care of him one day, he might be disappointed. There is absolutely no guarantee that just because you spend time and money and energy on someone, he or she will be grateful enough to help you out. This applies to our children as well. They say blood is thicker than water. I say bullshit. I’ve seen enough cases of children and parents – and siblings – at each others’ throats. Also, even if you spend time with some people on a daily basis, they may conveniently choose to be totally oblivious of your plight even when all you have to live on is love and sunshine.
So I say, well done Mr Rogers, good one, that quip about your first wife, but good luck on banking on the possibility that your girls will take care of you some day.