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_Global investor and author Jim Rogers answers five questions posed to him by CNBC on life, his investments and the lessons learnt from the Asian financial crisis._ Q: WHAT'S THE BEST

INVESTMENT YOU'VE EVER MADE? A: My family. I came to parenting and family late after decades of thinking it was a terrible waste of time and money. Boy, was I wrong! I now know what a

good investment I have made. Investment guru Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, speaks at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong on January 19, 2009 Mike Clarke | AFP | Getty Images Q:

How about the worst investment decision and how did it end up? A: This is way back in 1970, when I was still new to markets and the business. I had all my money in puts in January, which

people thought was nuts. I sold my puts the day the market hit bottom and tripled my money. Two months later, I sold short several companies — but in the next two months, markets kept

rallying, stocks kept going up. I was wiped out and lost everything. Interestingly, the companies I'd short also went bankrupt over the next two years, but I was wiped out first. This

episode taught me that i didn't know enough about markets and market timing. I thought I was smart but I didn't know better. Q. Do you think markets are becoming increasingly risky

for individual investors? A: No. The markets have changed little in the basic underlying situation. Q: WHAT WERE SOME OF THE KEY LESSONS LEARNT DURING THE ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS? A: Do not

borrow short and lend long. Beware of excess borrowing and excessive consumption. Q: WHO / WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE IN YOUR LIFE? A: Education. I came from a small town in

Alabama, it was education that gave me what I have now. I did well enough to go to Yale, and then got a scholarship to Oxford. My education took me away from the small town where I'd

grown up. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what I'd be doing now. _Jim Rogers is a successful global investor and author of several books, including 'A Bull in China',

'Hot Commodities' and his latest - 'A Gift to My Children'. He was co-founder of the highly successful global Quantum Fund in the 1970s, which gained 4,200 percent over a

10-year period. Rogers now resides in Singapore with his family.__ ______________________________ _WATCH JIM ROGERS' PAST INTERVIEWS ON CNBC:_ * Gold Could Exceed $2,000: Rogers * More

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