Class News
Jim Rogers '64: Around the World, Happily Ever After
You can follow Jim Rogers' trip around the world at www.jimrogers.com. Or read an article about it from the Financial Times. Does anybody else out there dare to dream?
And here is the New York Times article (January 9, 2000) on Jim's wedding to Paige Parker.
When Paige Parker met Jim Rogers in May 1996, she told him she had always dreamed of riding a motorcycle across the United States. That was the right thing to say to Mr. Rogers, who is a cross between a swashbuckling 19th-century adventurer and a gruff 1980's tycoon. After making his fortune (he founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros), he took off in 1990 for a two-year motorcycle trip he chronicled in "Investment Biker: Around the World With Jim Rogers."
Like his life, the decor in his Manhattan home is partly mainstream and partly flamboyant. "He lives in this beautiful, enormous town house filled from top to bottom with all this stuff," said Betsy Morgan Cary, a friend. "He's a tremendous collector of everything ― wine, political posters, antiques. He has an exquisite dining room as well as fun stuff like a jukebox and zebra rugs everywhere."
He crossed paths with Ms. Parker in Charlotte, N.C., when she attended a lecture he gave at the Mint Museum. At the time, she was the assistant to Dr. Billy 0. Wireman, the president of Queens College in Charlotte, who knew Mr. Rogers and introduced the two.
Mr. Rogers, who is 57 and has been married twice before, was struck by Ms. Parker right away. "She's a natural blonde, and there aren't many of those left," he said. "She has this very pure, innocent beauty, which you don't find very often, especially in New York."
The next day, he called and said: "Something magic happened. Let's pursue it."
Two weeks later, Ms. Parker flew to New York for their first date. "Jim has a bicycle built for two, and we rode that over to Central Park, to the Boathouse Cafe for dinner," said Ms. Parker, now 31. "It was fabulous! At that first dinner, he said, 'I'm thinking a lot about going around the world again.' And I said, 'Sign me up!'"
Soon, Mr. Rogers began introducing Ms. Parker to his New York friends, including Ms. Cary. "Paige is the ultimate very pretty Southern belle," Ms. Cary said. "I thought: 'Oh my goodness, she's this sweet little thing. How is this going to work?' because Jim can be tough. He can be a lot to take on. But I've seen Paige's strong side come out."
Last January, the couple did indeed leave for a trip around the world, mostly by car. Driving a custom-made, daisy-yellow four-wheel-drive Mercedes, they began their travels in Iceland, where three days later they were stranded in a snowstorm. "Paige was not very good at traveling at first," Mr. Rogers said. "A couple of times, I thought I might lose her. My reaction to the blizzard was, 'This is adventurous and fun.' Paige thought it was cold and dangerous."
After Iceland, they drove eastward through Europe and several republics of the former Soviet Union. They spent two months crossing China and another two looping back through Russia to Scandinavia. They have traversed roadless deserts, smoking geothermal streams, scary swamps and war-torn cities ― and remained in love.
"We've stayed in everything from five-star hotels to five-roach hotels," Mr. Rogers said. "Some places have no water, no electricity. We carry our own toilet seat."
The couple recently took a hiatus in England to plan the next leg of their trip ― a loop through Africa ― and also to get married.
On Jan. 1, with 90 guests watching, the bride arrived at the Church of St. Anne in Henley-on-Thames, riding a white carriage pulled by white horses and wearing a long trumpet-shaped dress and a white feather stole.
Ms. Parker, whom friends describe as an organizational wizard, put the wedding together via e-mail while driving through Siberia and Uzbekistan.
"Paige is a very intense individual, very driven and focused," said Deirdre Grubb, a friend. "She cannot sit in the shadow of somebody else. She's not going to be a backseat driver by any means."