Charles is a Founding Advisory Faculty member of the Institute for Private Investors, and he advises the Institute as an Emeritus Member and contributor to its programs. He is also a co-founder of the Leadership Center for Investment Stewards, President of the St. Louis Art Museum Subdistrict Commission, and a Director of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, and on the National Council of the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. He has been President of Temple Emanuel in St. Louis and a former director of Forest Park Forever and a former director of Clements Library of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Charles has a Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from Harvard University. He also has a Juris Doctorate (Order of the Coif) from the University of Michigan Law School. He is a member of the Bar of Missouri and New York.

Charles is the author of two books: Freedom From Wealth (with Don Trone) and The Wise Inheritor’s Guide to Freedom from Wealth. In 2019, Family Wealth Report awarded Charles its Thought Leadership award for his contributions to the wealth management industry. In 2011, Private Asset Management named Charles one of the 25 most influential people in wealth management and family office services.