Investment
Founder of $16 Billion Ariel Investments Created a School to Teach Kids Financial Literacy Through Stocks By Charlene Rhinehart
IN 1996, JOHN W. ROGERS, JR. launched a school to expose inner-city kids to valuable financial literacy concepts. The curriculum has been a huge success, creating opportunities for students to become economically empowered, pursue their career goals, and contribute to their communities. Rogers has used his success in the financial services industry to give kids a world-class educational opportunity that emphasizes an expanded view of financial literacy — a topic that is typically removed from classrooms across the country. “To me, financial literacy is not just about saving, credit cards, retirement, and home mortgages,” Rogers said during an interview with Black Enterprise. “All those things are important. But
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equally important is understanding how to invest in the equities market and compound money. Long-term stock market returns have substantially outperformed the returns on savings accounts.”
The Power of Teaching Kids Financial Literacy Rogers is known for saying that “people undervalue time and they overvalue money.” By using the power of time, Rogers went on to build the first Black-owned mutual fund firm in the nation. He founded Ariel Investments in 1983 and serves as the Chairman, Co-CEO, and Chief Investment Officer. Now, the Chicago-based firm has assets under management totaling over $16 billion. What’s Rogers’ secret to success? Starting early. At age 12, Rogers’ father gave him stocks DAWN
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