Dr. Jim Grubman has provided services to individuals, couples, and families of wealth for over 40 years. With an international reputation as a valued family advisor, he is often consulted in situations of complexity where psychology, law, finance, medicine and business all come into play to varying degrees.

In recognition of his prominence in the industry, Jim has been honored with two major professional honors in 2024. One is the prestigious 2024 Family Wealth Report Lifetime Achievement Award in the wealth management industry. The other is the 2024 Richard Beckhard Practice Award from the Family Firm Institute, the top practitioner award granted each year to an individual who has contributed significantly to the fields of family business consulting and family wealth consulting. Jim is also a past recipient of the 2021 FWR Award for Outstanding Thought Leadership with his longtime collaborator, Dennis T. Jaffe, PhD.

Jim is the author of Strangers in Paradise: How Families Adapt to Wealth Across Generations, a now-classic book discussing how individuals and families adjust to the opportunities and challenges of wealth. He is also co-author (with Dennis Jaffe and Kristin Keffeler) of Wealth 3.0: The Future of Family Wealth Advising, a remarkable look at the history and future of the wealth advising field. In addition, he is co-author with Dennis Jaffe of Cross Cultures: How Global Families Negotiate Change Across Generations, describing the unique adaptations of wealthy families around the world in various cultures. His work has been discussed in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, David and Goliath, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, CNBC, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe. He has published widely in the Journal of Wealth Management, the International Family Offices Journal, Journal of Financial Planning, the global family enterprise publication Tharawat Magazine, STEP Journal, and many other media.

A dynamic sought-after speaker, Jim has presented at national and international conferences including the STEP Global Congress, the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning of the University of Miami School of Law, TIGER21, the Family Office Exchange (FOX), and the Family Firm Institute, among many others. He was a collaborator on the Hundred Year Family Enterprise Project for Wise Counsel Research Associates, studying the practices of global families who have successfully made transitions through at least three generations. He has also served as academic director for the Family Legacy and Wealth Program at the John Molson Executive Centre of Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, as well as a similar program at Queens University in Kingston, ON, Canada.