Forbes Explained

Forbes
Image Alt:border
Founder:B. C. Forbes
Editor:Steve Forbes
Editor Title:Chairman / Editor-in-chief
Editor2:Randall Lane[1]
Editor Title2:Editor
Frequency:Twice quarterly
Total Circulation:514,184[2]
Circulation Year:2023
Publisher:Forbes Media
Category:Business magazine
Company:Integrated Whale Media Investments
Country:United States
Based:Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Language:English
Issn:0015-6914
Oclc:6465733

Forbes is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917 and owned by Hong Kong-based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes, and its CEO is Mike Federle.[3] It is based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Competitors in the national business magazine category include Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek.[4]

Published eight times a year, Forbes features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. It also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. It has an international edition in Asia as well as editions produced under license in 27 countries and regions worldwide. The magazine is known for its lists and rankings, including of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400), lists of 30 notable young people under the age of 30 (Forbes 30 under 30), America's Wealthiest Celebrities, the world's top companies (the Forbes Global 2000), Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People, and The World's Billionaires.[5] The motto of Forbes magazine is "Change the World".[6]

Company history

B. C. Forbes, a financial columnist for the Hearst papers, and his partner Walter Drey, the general manager of the Magazine of Wall Street,[7] founded Forbes magazine on September 15, 1917.[8] [9] Forbes provided the money and the name and Drey provided the publishing expertise. The original name of the magazine was Forbes: Devoted to Doers and Doings.[7] Drey became vice-president of the B.C. Forbes Publishing Company,[10] while B.C. Forbes became editor-in-chief, a post he held until his death in 1954. B.C. Forbes was assisted in his later years by his two eldest sons, Bruce Charles Forbes (1916–1964) and Malcolm Forbes (1917–1990).

Bruce Forbes took over after his father's death, and his strengths lay in streamlining operations and developing marketing.[8] During his tenure, 1954–1964, the magazine's circulation nearly doubled.[8]

On Bruce's death, his brother Malcolm Forbes became president and chief executive officer of Forbes, and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine.[11] Between 1961 and 1999 the magazine was edited by James Michaels.[12] In 1993, under Michaels, Forbes was a finalist for the National Magazine Award.[13] In 2006, an investment group Elevation Partners that includes rock star Bono bought a minority interest in the company with a reorganization, through a new company, Forbes Media LLC, in which Forbes Magazine and Forbes.com, along with other media properties, is now a part.[14] A 2009 New York Times report said: "40 percent of the enterprise was sold... for a reported $300 million, setting the value of the enterprise at $750 million." Three years later, Mark M. Edmiston of AdMedia Partners observed, "It's probably not worth half of that now." It was later revealed that the price had been US$264 million.[15]

In 2021, Forbes Media reported a return to profit, with revenue increasing by 34 percent to $165 million. Much of the revenue growth was attributed to Forbes’ consumer business, which was up 83 percent year-over-year.[16] CEO Mike Federle says that Forbes is built on an audience and business scale with 150 million consumers.[17]

Sale of headquarters

In January 2010, Forbes reached an agreement to sell its headquarters building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to New York University; terms of the deal were not publicly reported, but Forbes was to continue to occupy the space under a five-year sale-leaseback arrangement.[18] The company's headquarters moved to the Newport section of downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2014.[19] [20]

Sale to Integrated Whale Media (51% stake)

In November 2013, Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine, was put up for sale.[21] This was encouraged by minority shareholders Elevation Partners. Sale documents prepared by Deutsche Bank revealed that the publisher's 2012 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization was US$15 million.[22] Forbes reportedly sought a price of US$400 million.[22] In July 2014, the Forbes family bought out Elevation and then Hong Kong-based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments purchased a 51 percent majority of the company.[23] [24]

In 2017, Isaac Stone Fish, a senior fellow of the Asia Society, wrote in The Washington Post that "Since that purchase, there have been several instances of editorial meddling on stories involving China that raise questions about Forbes magazine's commitment to editorial independence."[25]

Failed SPAC merger and sale

On August 26, 2021, Forbes announced their plans to go public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company called Magnum Opus Acquisition, and starting to trade at the New York Stock Exchange as FRBS.[26] In February 2022, it was announced that Cryptocurrency exchange Binance would acquire a $200 million stake in Forbes as a result of the SPAC flotation.[27] [28] In June 2022, the company terminated its SPAC merger citing unfavorable market conditions.[29]

In August 2022, the company announced that it was exploring a sale of its business.[30] In May 2023, it was announced that billionaire Austin Russell, founder of Luminar Technologies, agreed to acquire an 82percent stake in a deal valuing the company at $800million. His majority ownership was to include the remaining portion of the company owned by Forbes family which was not previously sold to Integrated Whale Media.[31] [32] The transaction attracted scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Russell denied reports that Russian businessman Magomed Musaev was involved in the transaction.[33] In November 2023, the deal collapsed, as Russell was unable to put together the necessary funds.[34]

Other publications

Apart from Forbes and its lifestyle supplement, Forbes Life, other titles include Forbes Asia and 45 local language editions,[35] including:

Steve Forbes and his magazine's writers offer investment advice on the weekly Fox TV show Forbes on Fox and on Forbes on Radio. Other company groups include Forbes Conference Group, Forbes Investment Advisory Group and Forbes Custom Media. From the 2009 Times report: "Steve Forbes recently returned from opening up a Forbes magazine in India, bringing the number of foreign editions to 10." In addition, that year the company began publishing ForbesWoman, a quarterly magazine published by Steve Forbes's daughter, Moira Forbes, with a companion Web site.

The company formerly published American Legacy magazine as a joint venture, although that magazine separated from Forbes on May 14, 2007.[37]

The company also formerly published American Heritage and Invention & Technology magazines. After failing to find a buyer, Forbes suspended publication of these two magazines as of May 17, 2007.[38] Both magazines were purchased by the American Heritage Publishing Company and resumed publication as of the spring of 2008.[39] Forbes has published the Forbes Travel Guide since 2009.[40]

In 2013, Forbes licensed its brand to Ashford University, and assisted them to launch the Forbes School of Business & Technology.[41] CEO Mike Federle justified the licensing in 2018, stating that "Our licensing business is almost a pure-profit business, because it's an annual annuity."[42] Forbes would launch limited promotions for the school in limited issues. Forbes would never formally endorse the school.

On January 6, 2014, Forbes magazine announced that, in partnership with app creator Maz, it was launching a social networking app called "Stream". Stream allows Forbes readers to save and share visual content with other readers and discover content from Forbes magazine and Forbes.com within the app.[43]

Forbes.com

Forbes.com is part of Forbes Digital, a division of Forbes Media LLC. Forbes's holdings include a portion of RealClearPolitics. Together these sites reach more than 27 million unique visitors each month. Forbes.com employs the slogan "Home Page for the World's Business Leaders" and claimed, in 2006, to be the world's most widely visited business web site.[44] The 2009 Times report said that, while "one of the top five financial sites by traffic [throwing] off an estimated $70 million to $80 million a year in revenue, [it] never yielded the hoped-for public offering".

As of 2019 the company published 100 articles each day produced by 3,000 outside contributors who were paid little or nothing.[45] This business model, in place since 2010,[46] "changed their reputation from being a respectable business publication to a content farm", according to Damon Kiesow, the Knight Chair in digital editing and producing at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.[45] Similarly, Harvard University's Nieman Lab deemed Forbes "a platform for scams, grift, and bad journalism" as of 2022.[47]

Forbes.com uses a "contributor model" in which a wide network of "contributors" writes and publishes articles directly on the website. Contributors are paid based on traffic to their respective Forbes.com pages; the site has received contributions from over 2,500 individuals, and some contributors have earned over US$100,000, according to the company.[48] The contributor system has been criticized for enabling "pay-to-play journalism" and the repackaging of public relations material as news.[47] Forbes currently allows advertisers to publish blog posts on its website alongside regular editorial content through a program called BrandVoice, which accounts for more than 10 percent of its digital revenue.[49] Forbes.com also publishes subscription investment newsletters, and an online guide to web sites, Best of the Web. In July 2018 Forbes deleted an article by a contributor who argued that libraries should be closed, and Amazon should open bookstores in their place.[50]

David Churbuck founded Forbess web site in 1996. The site uncovered Stephen Glass's journalistic fraud in The New Republic in 1998, an article that drew attention to internet journalism.[51] At the peak of media coverage of alleged Toyota sudden unintended acceleration in 2010, it exposed the California "runaway Prius" as a hoax, as well as running five other articles by Michael Fumento challenging the entire media premise of Toyota's cars gone bad. The website (like the magazine) publishes lists focusing on billionaires and their possessions, especially real estate.[52] [53]

Currently, the website also blocks internet users using ad blocking software from accessing articles, demanding that the website be put on the ad blocking software's whitelist before access is granted.[54] Forbes argues that this is done because customers using ad blocking software do not contribute to the site's revenue. Malware attacks have been noted to occur from the Forbes site.[55]

Forbes won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Business Blog/Website.[56]

Forbes8

In November 2019, Forbes launched a streaming platform Forbes8, highlighting notable entrepreneurs and sharing business tips.[57] [58] [59] In 2020, the network announced the release of several documentary series including Forbes Rap Mentors, Driven Against the Odds, Indie Nation and Titans on the Rocks.[60] [61]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: . Randall Lane returns to Forbes as editor . Jim . Romenesko . August 9, 2011 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222140925/http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/142283/randall-lane-returns-to-forbes-as-editor/ . February 22, 2014.
  2. Web site: Consumer Magazines . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20240731103740/https://abcas3.auditedmedia.com/ecirc/magtitlesearch.asp . . July 31, 2024.
  3. Web site: Folio . Mike Federle Succeeds Mike Perlis As CEO Of Forbes . November 30, 2017 . Silva . Emma .
  4. News: Even Forbes is Pinching Pennies. David. Carr. David Carr (journalist). The New York Times. June 14, 2009. June 15, 2009. April 1, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120401020846/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/business/media/15forbes.html . live . subscription.
  5. Web site: The 8 Best Business Magazines of 2020 . Delbridge . Emily . November 21, 2019 . The Balance Small Business . Dotdash . New York City. Best for Lists: Forbes . February 8, 2020.
  6. Web site: 'Forbes' Launches New Tagline, Brand Campaign . October 24, 2012 . MediaPostb. January 24, 2020.
  7. Web site: Notes of a Business Quizzer: Forbes. Praneeth. July 6, 2007. August 27, 2018.
  8. Gorman, Robert F. (ed.) (2007) "September 15, 1917: Forbes Magazine is founded" The Twentieth Century, 1901–1940 (Volume III) Salem Press, Pasadena, California, pp. 1374–1376 [1375],
  9. Web site: Media Kit 2013. Forbes Middle East. September 18, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141105210647/http://www.forbesmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2013-Forbes-Middle-East-English-Media-Kit.pdf. November 5, 2014. dead.
  10. Commerce and Industry Association of New York (November 18, 1922) "The Association Prepares for New Demands: The Volunteer Workers" Greater New York: Bulletin of the Merchants' Association of New York Commerce and Industry Association of New York City, p. 6,
  11. http://www.elevation.com/downloads/News_08-07.pdf 'Forbes Announce Elevation Partners Investment in Family Held Company'
  12. News: James Michaels, Longtime Forbes Editor, Dies at 86. January 5, 2008. The New York Times. Richard. Pérez-Peña. October 4, 2007.
  13. Web site: National Magazine Awards Database . January 5, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110526232156/http://www.magazine.org/asme/magazine_awards/searchable_database/index.aspx . May 26, 2011 . dead .
  14. Web site: NussbaumOnDesign Bono Buys into Forbes, Launches Product Red in US and Expands His Brand . https://web.archive.org/web/20060809233845/http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/NussbaumOnDesign/archives/2006/08/bono_buys_into.html . August 9, 2006 . Bloomberg BusinessWeek . January 5, 2008 . dead.
  15. News: MarketWatch. Forbes sold to Asian investors. July 19, 2014. Trachtenberg. Jeffrey A. Market Watch, Inc.. June 18, 2017. July 20, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140720002531/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/forbes-sold-to-asian-investors-2014-07-19. live. subscription.
  16. Web site: Norris . Ashley . 2021-12-01 . Forbes reports a return to profit in 2021 . 2024-07-25 . FIPP . en.
  17. Web site: 2022-07-17 . Forbes Business Model How does Forbes Make Money? . 2024-07-25 . StartupTalky . en.
  18. Web site: Forbes Sells Building to N.Y.U.. New York Times Media Decoder. January 7, 2010. February 5, 2013.
  19. Web site: Forbes Moves Across the Hudson to Jersey City. Mike. Schneider. WNET – NJTV. December 18, 2014. June 14, 2015.
  20. News: Forbes moving into Jersey City offices on Monday, report says. The Jersey Journal. December 11, 2014. June 14, 2015.
  21. News: Forbes Says It Is for Sale. The New York Times. November 15, 2013. November 25, 2013. Christine . Haughney . David . Gelles . November 16, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131116085241/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/business/media/forbes-says-it-is-for-sale.html . live . subscription.
  22. Web site: The Newsonomics of Forbes' real performance and price potential . Nieman Lab. Ken . Doctor. January 16, 2014.
  23. Forbes Media Agrees To Sell Majority Stake to a Group of International Investors To Accelerate The Company's Global Growth. Forbes. July 18, 2014. July 24, 2015.
  24. Web site: Forbes Sells to Hong Kong Investment Group. Recode. August 27, 2018. July 18, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20170124211943/https://www.recode.net/2014/7/18/11628980/forbes-sells-to-hong-kong-investment-group. January 24, 2017. dead.
  25. News: Chinese ownership is raising questions about the editorial independence of a major U.S. magazine . Fish . Isaac Stone . December 14, 2017 . . November 22, 2020 . https://archive.today/20171215035245/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/12/14/chinese-ownership-is-raising-questions-about-the-editorial-independence-of-a-major-u-s-magazine/ . December 15, 2017 . When a Chinese company buys a major American magazine, does the publication censor its coverage of China? There is only one example so far, and the results are discouraging. In 2014, a Hong Kong-based investment group called Integrated Whale Media purchased a majority stake in Forbes Media, one of the United States’ best-known media companies. It’s hard to demonstrate causality in such cases. But since that purchase, there have been several instances of editorial meddling on stories involving China that raise questions about Forbes magazine’s commitment to editorial independence..
  26. Web site: Forbes announces plan to go public via SPAC. Burtsztynsky . Jessica . August 26, 2021 . . August 26, 2021.
  27. News: Crypto exchange Binance to invest $200 mln in U.S. media firm Forbes. Tom. Wilson. Reuters. February 10, 2022 .
  28. News: Crypto Exchange Binance to Invest $200 Million in Forbes. Alexander. Osipovich. Wall Street Journal. February 10, 2022 .
  29. News: Ramkumar . Amrith . June 1, 2022 . SeatGeek and Forbes Nix SPAC Deals During Market Pullback . The Wall Street Journal.
  30. News: Mullin . Benjamin . Hirsch . Lauren . August 2, 2022 . Forbes Explores Sale After SPAC Deal Collapses . The New York Times.
  31. News: May 12, 2023 . Forbes to be acquired by Luminar Technologies' Austin Russell . . December 22, 2023.
  32. News: Bruell . Alexandra . May 12, 2023 . Automotive Tech Billionaire Austin Russell to Acquire Majority Stake in Forbes . The Wall Street Journal.
  33. News: October 20, 2023 . Russian tycoon claims he is behind Forbes purchase, audiotapes show . . October 22, 2023.
  34. Web site: Fischer . Sara . November 21, 2023 . Forbes deal dead as Austin Russell fails to raise cash by deadline . Axios.
  35. Web site: Forbes.com Footer. Forbes.
  36. Web site: May 2, 2024 . Forbes anuncia su llegada a Paraguay . Forbes announces its arrival in Paraguay . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503082750/https://www.ultimahora.com/forbes-anuncia-su-llegada-a-paraguay . May 3, 2024 . August 2, 2024 . . es.
  37. Web site: With The May 14 Announced Separation: Twelve-Year-Old "American Legacy"/"Forbes" Partnership Was Mutually Beneficial . September 1, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140903140410/http://www.minonline.com/min/4549.html . September 3, 2014 . dead .
  38. News: Magazine Suspends Its Run in History. The New York Times. Charles. McGrath. May 17, 2007.
  39. Web site: Thank You for Your Feedback on the American Heritage Winter 2008 Issue . American Heritage . https://web.archive.org/web/20101230034738/http://www.americanheritage.com/events/articles/web/20080204-ThankYou.shtml. December 30, 2010.
  40. Web site: Powell . Laura . 2018-04-24 . An Inside Look at the Forbes Travel Guide . 2024-07-25 . Skift . en-US.
  41. Web site: Forbes School of Business & Technology Board of Advisors . University of Arizona Global Campus. April 22, 2021.
  42. Web site: Amid media doom and gloom, Forbes says revenue was up and profits highest in a decade. Patel. Sahil. December 21, 2018. Digiday. May 12, 2019.
  43. News: Forbes Is The First Magazine To Launch Its Own Social Network With "Stream" . Forbes. January 6, 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231007025424/https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2014/01/06/forbes-is-the-first-magazine-to-launch-its-own-social-network-with-stream/?sh=4e2ec91662b0 . Oct 7, 2023 .
  44. News: At Forbes.com, Lots of Glitter but Maybe Not So Many Visitors. subscription . Peter. Edmonston. August 28, 2006. The New York Times. May 2, 2011 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20121116105748/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/technology/28forbes.html . Nov 16, 2012 .
  45. Web site: Jeffrey Epstein pushed a new narrative; these sites published it . Tiffany . Hsu . July 19, 2019 . The New York Times . August 22, 2023 . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230907032420/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/business/media/jeffrey-epstein-media.html . Sep 7, 2023 .
  46. Web site: What the Forbes model of contributed content means for journalism . Poynter . Sonderman . Jeff . May 29, 2012 . August 22, 2023.
  47. Web site: An incomplete history of Forbes.com as a platform for scams, grift, and bad journalism . Joshua Benton . Benton . Joshua . February 9, 2022 . Nieman Lab. August 22, 2023.
  48. Web site: Bartlett . Rachel . The Forbes contributor model: Technology, feedback and incentives . journalism.co.uk . October 13, 2013. September 26, 2013 .
  49. News: Forbes gives advertisers an editorial voice . emedia . https://web.archive.org/web/20131109153816/http://www.emediavitals.com/content/forbes-gives-advertisers-editorial-voice . November 9, 2013.
  50. Web site: Forbes deleted its controversial article about Amazon replacing libraries. Cale . Weissman . July 23, 2018. Fast Company.
  51. Hello, My Name Is Stephen Glass, and I'm Sorry . 2024-05-16 . The New Republic . 0028-6583.
  52. Web site: Jobs: Motley to Leave Time Inc., Plus More Job-Hopping Fun . Gawker . January 5, 2008 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080218092904/http://gawker.com/news/jobs/motley-to-leave-time-inc-plus-more-jobhopping-fun-162725.php . February 18, 2008 .
  53. Web site: Tognini . Giacomo . The Richest Real Estate Billionaires In America 2023 . 2024-07-25 . Forbes . en.
  54. Web site: Jason . Bloomberg . Ad Blocking Battle Drives Disruptive Innovation . Forbes . April 14, 2017.
  55. Web site: Hruska . Joel . Forbes forces readers to turn off ad blockers, promptly serves malware . Extreme Tech . April 14, 2017.
  56. Web site: Kastrenakes . Jacob . Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards . The Verge . May 22, 2020 . en . May 20, 2020.
  57. Web site: Forbes8 . Inc..
  58. Web site: Releases. Forbes Press. Forbes8, Forbes' On-Demand Video Network For Entrepreneurs, Debuts New Slate Of Original Content. August 5, 2020. Forbes. en.
  59. Web site: Kene-Okafor. Tage. May 25, 2020. Forbes8 launches digital startup accelerator, calls for applications. August 5, 2020. Techpoint Africa.
  60. Web site: October 23, 2019. Forbes8 Original Series: 6 icons of entrepreneurship show you how to become your own boss. August 5, 2020. Grit Daily News.
  61. Web site: Forbes Councils . Forbes . February 9, 2022.

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