Fredric Mark "Ric" Edelman[6] is an American investor and author. He is the founder of Edelman Financial Services (later, Edelman Financial Engines), the author of several personal finance books, and the host of a weekly personal finance talk radio show called The Ric Edelman Show.[7] Edelman was also the host of the public television show The Truth About Money with Ric Edelman.
Edelman grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.[2] He majored in communications at Rowan University (then Glassboro State College), where he met his wife Jean.[8] He began his career as a reporter for McKnight Publications from 1980 to 1986.[5]
Ric and Jean Edelman co-founded Edelman Financial Services, a financial advisory firm, in 1986.[9][10] Edelman sold a majority stake of Edelman Financial Services to Sanders Morris Harris Group in 2005.[2] The group merged with Financial Engines to form Edelman Financial Engines in 2018. Ric Edelman sits on the board, where until June 2021 he oversaw financial education and client experience.[11][12][13]
In July 2001, Edelman's book Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth appeared at #1 in the paperback "Advice, How-to and Miscellaneous" category of the New York Times Best Seller list.[14]Barron's ranked Edelman the #1 Independent Financial Advisor in the United States in 2012.[15] In 2019, Barron's added Edelman to its Financial Advisors Hall of Fame.[16]
Jean and Ric Edelman founded the Edelman Nursing Career Development Center in partnership with Inova Health System in 2001, and donated $1 million to the program in 2008.[17]
Rowan University renamed its creative arts school the Ric Edelman College of Communications & Creative Arts in February 2020[18][19] and named him a "Distinguished Lecturer".[20] Edelman donated $25 million to Rowan for its Edelman Fossil Park and the development of a museum.
