Forbes

Forbes is an American business magazine that was launched in 1917 by B. C. Forbes. Since 2014, it has been majority-owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments, a Hong Kong-based investment group. Steve Forbes serves as chairman and editor-in-chief, and Sherry Phillips became CEO in January 2025. The company is based in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The magazine comes out eight times a year and covers finance, industry, investing, marketing, and also touches on technology, communications, science, politics, and law. It has an Asian international edition and 27 other licensed editions around the world. Forbes is best known for its rankings, such as the Forbes 400 (richest Americans), Forbes 30 Under 30, America’s wealthiest celebrities, the Forbes Global 2000 (top companies), the world’s most powerful people, and the list of global billionaires.

Since 2010, the Forbes.com website has relied heavily on freelance contributors who operate with limited editorial oversight. This practice has been criticized as enabling “pay-to-play journalism.”

B. C. Forbes, a financial columnist for Hearst, co-founded the magazine on September 15, 1917, with Walter Drey, general manager of the Magazine of Wall Street. Forbes supplied the money and name; Drey brought publishing expertise. The original title was *Forbes: Devoted to Doers and Doings*. Drey became vice-president of the B.C. Forbes Publishing Company, and Forbes served as editor-in-chief until his death in 1954. His sons Bruce Charles Forbes and Malcolm Forbes assisted him in his later years.

Bruce Forbes took over after his father’s death, focusing on streamlining operations and marketing. Under his leadership from 1954 to 1964, the magazine’s circulation nearly doubled. After Bruce died, Malcolm Forbes became president, CEO, and editor-in-chief. James Michaels edited the magazine from 1961 to 1999; in 1993, under Michaels, *Forbes* was a finalist for the National Magazine Award.

In 2006, investment group Elevation Partners, which includes rock star Bono, bought a minority stake, reorganizing the company into Forbes Media LLC. A 2009 *New York Times* report stated that 40 percent of the enterprise was sold for a reported $300 million, valuing it at $750 million. Three years later, Mark M. Edmiston of AdMedia Partners said it was probably worth half that. The actual price was later revealed to be $264 million.

In 2021, Forbes Media returned to profit, with revenue up 34 percent to $165 million, driven largely by an 83 percent increase in its consumer business. CEO Mike Federle said the company had an audience of 150 million consumers.

In January 2010, Forbes agreed to sell its Fifth Avenue headquarters in Manhattan to New York University under a five-year sale-leaseback arrangement; terms were not disclosed. The company moved its headquarters to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2014.

In November 2013, Forbes Media was put up for sale, encouraged by minority shareholder Elevation Partners. Deutsche Bank prepared sale documents showing 2012 EBITDA of $15 million. Forbes sought a price of $400 million. In July 2014, the Forbes family bought out Elevation, then sold a 51 percent majority to Integrated Whale Media Investments. In 2017, Isaac Stone Fish of the Asia Society wrote in *The Washington Post* that there had been instances of editorial meddling on China-related stories, raising questions about the magazine’s editorial independence.

On August 26, 2021, Forbes announced plans to go public via a merger with SPAC Magnum Opus Acquisition, trading as FRBS on the NYSE. In February 2022, cryptocurrency exchange Binance planned to acquire a $200 million stake through the SPAC. In June 2022, the merger was terminated due to unfavorable market conditions. In August 2022, Forbes explored a sale. In May 2023, billionaire Austin Russell, founder of Luminar Technologies, agreed to buy an 82 percent stake, valuing the company at $800 million. The deal faced scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; Russell denied Russian businessman Magomed Musaev was involved. In November 2023, the deal collapsed because Russell could not secure the necessary funds.

Forbes also publishes the lifestyle supplement *Forbes Life* and has 42 international editions covering 69 countries. Some editions have ceased publication.