Thomas H. RuggieContributor
Tom is a visionary wealth manager, executive, and entrepreneur who has spent more than three decades building one of the country’s pre-eminent wealth management organizations, comprised of an independent RIA, multiple wealth management firms, various alternative investment funds, co-investment fund and other privileged investment initiatives to enhance client offerings. In 2017, Tom founded Destiny Family Office to help individuals and families with situations like his – navigate the challenges and complexities of managing significant wealth, and to offer them a single-family office experience within a multi-family office structure. His success is not one of inherited privilege but of resilience, hard work, and tenacity that have been formative to his entrepreneurial journey and personalized approach to serving clients. He often remarks, “I am my own client,” reflecting his deep understanding of the complexities involved in building, managing, and preserving wealth while navigating the demands of both family and business. Every capability and solution at Destiny Family Office has been shaped by a guiding question: What would I want as a client? The answers have been refined over more than two decades of insights gained from Strategic Coach, Vistage membership, the implementation of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) across his enterprise, and most recently, his participation in Tiger 21. Tom’s philosophy of collaboration and quest for lifelong learning have been foundational. He and his team are committed to be their clients’ “first call” — whether they are celebrating achievements, navigating setbacks, or seeking new opportunities. Tom, who was named the 2025 InvestmentNews Advisor of the Year - Alternative Investments, focuses heavily on providing privileged access to institutional-caliber alternative investments, including pre-IPO direct/private investments. He has also combined his own passion as an avid collector with his financial expertise to help clients turn personal interests into powerful investments. He is an author and contributing writer with dozens of articles published in industry-leading publications and speaks frequently on the topics of alternative investments and collectibles as an asset class. Tom and his team have been blessed to be recognized and ranked among the nation’s top wealth advisors and firms: • InvestmentNews 2025 Advisor of the Year - Alternative Investments • 8X Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors (#1 N Florida – 2024, #2 N Florida – 2025) • 13X Barron’s Top 1200 Financial Advisors • InvestmentNews 2024 RIA “Team of the Year” • Newsweek America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms 2025 • Forbes Top 250 RIA Firms (#4 in Florida – 2024) • InvestmentNews 2025 Hot List – 100 Top Financial Professionals in the US • 13X Financial Advisor Magazine “America’s Top RIA’s” • ThinkAdvisor Luminaries 2024 Award Finalist “Thought Leader of the Year” • 3X Family Wealth Report Awards Finalist • InvestmentNews 2023 Top 75 Fastest-Growing Fee-Only RIAS • Forbes Finance Council Since 2016 https://www.barrons.com/articles/future-returns-the-banking-crisis-didnt-scare-off-alternative-investors-8bc93916 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Tom is a member of TIGER 21, North America’s premier peer-to-peer network for entrepreneurs, inventors and top executives, which focuses on investment acumen as well as wealth preservation, estate planning and family dynamics beyond finance, and is also a member of the UHNW Institute, an educational, not-for-profit think tank. He serves on the board of the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation, the charitable arm of the Orlando Magic committed to helping at-risk youth in Central Florida, and is also on the board of Xtressé™, a breakthrough Regenerative Hair Treatment. The Florida native is President Emeritus of the Cornerstone Hospice Foundation and was appointed by the Governor of Florida to the board of the Florida Prepaid College Plan and served as its vice-chairman. He and his wife created the Tom and Kim Ruggie Family Foundation to support projects that strengthen the bond of families, improve the quality of people’s lives and enhance access to life-enriching services such as healthcare and education. Tom, Kim, their son, daughter and son-in-law are ‘addicted’ to CrossFit and working-out in general. In 2020, Tom earned the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer designation. He also enjoys traveling with his family, red wine and has a significant sports’ memorabilia collection.
