The son of Michael and MiriamSimon Gratz, Hyman Gratz was raised in a large family,prominent in civic and Jewish communal life in Philadelphia. Hisfather was a merchant and land speculator. Among his siblings wereFrances, Rebecca,Benjamin, Rachel,and Joseph.

Educated inPhiladelphia public schools, Gratz went into business, from 1798 aswholesale grocer, in partnership with his brother Simon, and later inlife insurance. In 1818 he was elected director of the PennsylvaniaCompany for Insurance on Lives and Granting Annuities, and twodecades later became president of the firm.

Like many of hissiblings he devoted time and attention to philanthropy: he served onthe board of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, was one of themanagers of the Jewish of the first Jewish Publication Society ofAmerica, in the 1840s, and served as treasurer of Congregation MikvehIsrael from 1824 to 1856. In coordination with the Hebrew EducationSociety of Philadelphia—founded by his sister Rebecca and RabbiIsaac Leeser—established a trust ofstocks, bonds, and other property, to create a “a college forthe education of Jews residing in the city and county ofPhiladelphia.” Opened in 1895, Gratz College has since grown tobecome a liberal arts college in suburban Philadelphia.