Diana Chambers

Wealth mentor Diana Chambers discovered her love of mountains while living in Scotland, and remembers fondly visits to her shared flat by the actor Robbie Coltrane.

Your time at the University

I chose Edinburgh because of my love for the Scottish outdoors, and because it offered one of the best undergraduate business degrees in the country. I joined the ski club, although I didn’t know back then that the draw of mountains and snow would cause me to choose to live in the Alps in Switzerland. During my time at Edinburgh, I shared a house in Argyle Place with seven others, and one of our notable guests on many mornings was Robbie Coltrane who would join us for breakfast and regale us with stories and jokes – a great way to start the day.

I was fortunate in my third year to be selected as one of the initial participants in the Edinburgh exchange scheme with the University of Pennsylvania. I spent a year at the Wharton Business School, which began my lifelong love affair with the US, where I lived from 1987 to 2014.

I was grateful to keep some of my Edinburgh connections after I moved to Washington, DC, because of the opportunity to meet visiting lecturers and participate in alumni events

Tell us about your experiences since leaving the University

I made close friendships that have lasted until today. About 50 of us got together five years ago to reminisce about our life at Edinburgh; I was voted most improved, a somewhat backhanded compliment!

I was grateful to keep some of my Edinburgh connections after I moved to Washington, DC, because of the opportunity to meet visiting lecturers and participate in alumni events. I directed three different non-profit organisations over 15 years before I started my own business practice in 2002, to help people to live well with their wealth.

Many of us have good financial IQ skills, but we often lack financial EQ or emotional intelligence to manage the ways in which our wealth affects us and our relationships. I help my clients build their confidence and competence with their wealth. Philanthropy is a significant path to enjoying our wealth and I honed my skills as a philanthropic advisor through learning, first-hand, what it meant to raise the budgets for the non-profit organisations I directed. My high donors became my good friends and, as they shared with me their hopes and dreams, the beginning threads of my wealth mentoring and philanthropic advisory work became apparent.

I now serve a global clientele of people who make a tremendous difference through their commitments to make the world a better place and to live well with their wealth. I learn about new interest areas on a regular basis to support my clients in their commitments – everything from early childhood education, to Alzheimer’s Disease, to global climate change. I’m fortunate to have such interesting and meaningful work.

I recently distilled my best thinking into my new book 'True Wealth: Letters on Money, Life, and Love'. It’s a series of 43 letters written to me (based on the questions I have been asked most frequently by friends and clients) and my responses to them.

Alumni wisdom

Discover your purpose on this planet – whatever it takes to find your path – then use that as the lens to make all your future decisions.                                

Further information

True Wealth: Letters on Money, Life, and Love

I can be reached at diana@dianachambers.com