And now, some five years later, their
postcard-perfect family home, located
on the outskirts of the Botanic Gardens,
is littered with colourful animal floats
sitting languidly in the sun beside the
small playhouse while just a few feet
away, behind the transparent glass of the
pool house, multiple stacks of Rogers’s
latest book Street Smarts: Adventures
on the Road and in the Markets stand
toweringly among an eclectic collection
of curios and souvenirs, garnered from
their travels.
Paige and Rogers tries as much as
possible to give their two daughters
a normal life free from the trappings
of wealth, learning how to cycle at the
wide expanse of the void decks of Farrer
Road and heading for meals at the local
restaurants. Happy and Bee particularly
enjoy eating the pizza served piping hot
at a nearby restaurant; their father not
so much.
However, as the two girls grew older,
they began receiving remarks from their
schoolmates that their father was a rich
and important person, Happy’s friends in
particular.
“No matter how many times I tell my
daughters that we are not rich, it is
starting to sound hollow. After all, they
are starting to realise that they live in a
house that is different from their peers,
they have two cars and a driver, and they
rarely take the bus,” Rogers says.
The investor admits he is stumped at
what else he can do to teach his children
about the value of money – that it is
difficult to earn and easy to squander. He
even toyed with the idea of moving into
an HDB flat but it was not possible.
In fact, Rogers seemed almost
apologetic about the wealth that he has
worked so hard to gather, as though
his multi-million net worth that many
others crave is a heavy burden instead of
a boon.
In the meantime, he makes his
daughters do a couple of household
chores around the home, even though
they have two full-time helpers, and
heavily restricts their shopping.
Fortunately, both Rogers and Paige
are on the same page when it comes to
the topic of rearing their children. They
want to groom young ladies who are
self-disciplined, polite and passionate
about what they do. And Rogers, a
huge admirer of Singapore’s education
system, believes that he has given
his children the best tools to succeed
in today’s global economy – the dual
knowledge of English and Mandarin.
Rogers is not far from the truth. China
has emerged as the world’s secondlargest economy, second only to the
financial juggernaut that is America, and
is not showing signs of slowing down.
That was the main reason why Rogers
relocated to Singapore in 2007, to be at
the hub of Asia’s burgeoning growth and
to get his daughters to learn Mandarin in
a safe environment.
“We have a full-time governess who
comes in five days a week and interacts in
Mandarin with them, whether it is about
riding a bicycle or any other aspect of their
lives. Of course, she helps them with their
Chinese homework but a lot of the time,
it is about having a constant Mandarin
presence in the house,” explains Rogers.
Already, this investment is starting to
bear fruit. Happy recently emerged
tops in a nationwide Mandarin speaking
competition, finishing as the top speaker
of her age among some 800-odd Chinese
students. It must have been quite a
peculiar sight to see a sole flaxen-haired
young girl with nary any hints of Chinese
features walk up on stage to receive her
prize, being applauded by her astonished
Chinese compatriots. Rogers and Paige
too were as surprised as all of them
and understandably incredibly elated at
her achievement.
The image of Happy grinning away
on the stage has been permanently
catalogued into Rogers’s ever
expanding mental dossier of
memorable moments. The man who
has seen almost everything that the
world can offer is experiencing a new
lease of life, watching his two daughters
grow up. “Even their vaccinations are
memorable!” Rogers jokes.
One aspect of Singapore and her
education system that Rogers is not
fond of though is the suffocating tuition
culture. “Everybody [here] is stuffed
with tuition! I would rather that not do
any but unfortunately, the one thing
that we learned about Singapore’s
school system is her rather corroded
testing methods,” says Rogers.
According to the renowned author,
unfortunately, students have to answer
the set questions according to what he
terms “the MOE (Ministry of Education
Singapore) way”, which he feels is
a rather narrow route to take. “You
and I could give a perfectly legitimate
answer. But if you do not answer it
the MOE way, it is wrong!” Rogers
emphatically expounds.
So, Rogers and Paige reluctantly
gave in, enrolling their eldest
daughter in tuition classes to make
sure she understands how to answer
questions “the MOE way”.
But, Rogers has never been one to
tread a well-worn path, preferring
instead to make his own way in life.
And the 71-year-old, who does not look
a day above 50 thanks to his regular
morning exercise regime, has a wealth
of experience when it comes to
marriage, having walked down the
altar twice before.
The third time’s the charm though and
Rogers and Paige have been married
happily for 13 years. When I asked
Rogers what was it about Paige that
made him realise that she was the one,
he gave a chuckle. “Whatever it was, it
must have been right because here we
are and still married,” he shares.
After all, with his less than stellar track
record i