Forbes

In 1917 Bertie Charles (B.C.) Forbes founded Forbes magazine, whose first issue appeared on September 15 under the motto “Devoted to Doers and Doings.” Forbes says that for several decades it was the only major financial magazine in the United States, and that its very first issue already highlighted women in business.⁠[1][2][2][2]

In 1982 Malcolm Forbes started the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans, the company’s first franchise, which led to many of the other lists Forbes is now known for. Since 2018 the list has included a philanthropy score for each member.⁠[2][2][2]

In 1996, almost 80 years after the magazine’s founding, Forbes launched its website, Forbes.com.⁠[2][1]

In 2001 Forbes held its first Global CEO Conference in Singapore, which became an annual gathering of executives and leaders. William Adamopoulos, who built Forbes’s conference business around the event, joined Forbes in 1999, established its Asia headquarters and launched Forbes Asia magazine and local editions in Japan, China, Korea, India and other markets.⁠[2][3][3][3]

Forbes launched ForbesWomen, a channel dedicated to women in business, founded by Moira Forbes, who serves as its president and publisher; its founding year is given as both 2007 and 2008. Moira Forbes also oversees the World’s Most Powerful Women list and launched the annual Power Women’s Summit in 2013.⁠[3][2][3]

In 2008 Forbes created its contributor network, letting outside writers publish directly on Forbes.com; by 2022 it had more than 2,800 contributors. Forbes states that its writers and contributors are not authorized to approve the use of any content attributed to Forbes.⁠[2][4]

Around 2011 Forbes introduced BrandVoice, which lets advertisers publish their own content on Forbes’s content management platform; Forbes says many competitors later copied the model. Branded content such as BrandVoice, together with digital and print advertising and event sponsorship, makes up the bulk of Forbes’s revenue, and BrandVoice sections on Forbes.com are labeled “Paid Program.”⁠[2][2][2][5]

In 2012 Forbes founded the 30 Under 30 list, initially recognizing people under 30 expected to shape business, entertainment and influence, and later expanding it to recognize entrepreneurship around the world.⁠[2][2]

In 2013 Forbes’s revenue from digital operations surpassed its print revenue for the first time. That year the University of Arizona Global Campus launched the Forbes School of Business and Technology under a license agreement.⁠[2][2]

In 2014 the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media (IWM) acquired a majority stake in Forbes; on September 12, 2014, IWM, its subsidiary Forbes Global Holdings (FGH) and Highlander Management signed a shareholders agreement. By 2021 IWM indirectly held 95 percent of Forbes through FGH, and Highlander directly held the remaining 5 percent.⁠[6][2][2][2]

In 2018 Forbes launched its first in-house content management system, named Bertie after founder B.C. Forbes.⁠[2]

In 2020 Forbes’s combined print, digital, conference and social audience surpassed 150 million. Its 2021 World’s Billionaires list was the 35th annual edition and counted 2,755 billionaires, 660 more than the year before.⁠[2][2]

On August 26, 2021, Forbes Global Media Holdings agreed to combine with Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited, a special purpose acquisition company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with the combined company to trade on the NYSE under the ticker “FRBS” and continue under existing management led by CEO Mike Federle. The deal implied an enterprise value of $630 million and included a $400 million PIPE from institutional investors, with expected gross proceeds of about $600 million.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6]

IWM Executive Chairman TC Yam said IWM would remain involved as a significant investor. Under a related services agreement, members of the Forbes family agreed to keep attending board meetings and company events and to observe non-competition and non-solicitation obligations for two years after closing, with Highlander entitled to an annual fee of $1 million.⁠[6][2][2]

On February 10, 2022, Magnum Opus announced that Binance Capital Management had agreed to take over the subscription obligations of existing PIPE investors for 20 million shares, or $200 million; under an amended investor rights agreement, Binance would nominate two members of the combined company’s nine-person board.⁠[7][7][7][7]

In the April 2022 merger proxy statement, Forbes acknowledged that its contributor network and licensees publish content under the Forbes name and that, despite vetting, it has faced and will continue to face claims over such content, including defamation, intellectual property, privacy and FTC regulation; it said it faces routine legal claims over trademarks, libel and data privacy, which management did not expect to have a material adverse effect on its finances.⁠[2][2][2][2][2]

The proxy also described Forbes’s operations in mainland China and Hong Kong: a 30 percent stake in a joint venture that holds conferences in mainland China and runs forbeschina.com and Forbes China magazine, and licensing of the Forbes name outside the United States through a Hong Kong subsidiary. It warned that, given the Chinese government’s oversight of business in Hong Kong, there was no assurance it would not intervene in Hong Kong-based companies or Forbes’s Hong Kong operations in the future.⁠[2][2][2]

The parties had agreed to extend the merger agreement’s termination date to May 31, 2022, but the deal did not close. On June 1, 2022, IWM, acting as shareholders’ representative, notified Magnum Opus that it was terminating the agreement and all related ancillary agreements, ending the plan to take Forbes public.⁠[8][8][8][8]

Forbes publishes more than 100 lists a year across categories including innovation, entrepreneurship, entertainment, sports, finance and emerging companies; its flagship rankings include the World’s Billionaires, the Forbes 400, 30 Under 30, the World’s Most Powerful Women and Top Creators. Forbes says each list is produced by a team of reporters, fact-checkers and researchers using a proprietary methodology updated annually.⁠[9][9][9]

Data from selected lists is available for license for internal research, delivered as spreadsheets.⁠[4]

Through its Accolades business, Forbes sells products to people and companies named on its lists: using the Forbes list logo in owned or paid marketing requires a license, and other offerings include Premium Profiles, Listmaker Voice executive articles on Forbes.com, and plaques, framed reprints and other displays. Forbes says creating an award logo with the Forbes name or trademark without permission is a violation, and stresses that candidates for any Forbes list do not pay to be considered or selected.⁠[5][5][5][5][5][5][5]

Forbes magazine publishes six issues a year, each built around major lists: the Money Issue (February/March), the Billionaires Issue (April/May), the Self-Made Women Issue (June/July), the Next Billion-Dollar Startups Issue (August/September), the Forbes 400 Issue (October/November) and the 30 Under 30 Issue (December/January). Each issue is organized into the Frontrunner and Contrarian sections and a feature well.⁠[10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10]

Forbes has 49 licensed editions in 81 countries on six continents, published in 31 languages across Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, and Latin America, all with the shared mission of celebrating entrepreneurial capitalism in all its forms.⁠[11][11]

Forbes says its brand reaches more than 140 million people each month through its journalism, ForbesLive events and licensed editions; its 2026 media kit lists more than 150 million global monthly visits, a social following of more than 100 million, 5.49 million print readers and 2.48 million newsletter subscribers, while Forbes.com draws more than 109 million unique visitors and its newsletters go out more than 25 million times a month.⁠[12][12][3][13]

Sherry Phillips is chief executive officer of Forbes Media and has held various C-level roles at the company; Mike Federle was CEO when the 2021 merger was announced. Moira Forbes, a member of the founding family, is executive vice president.⁠[3][3][6][3]

Forbes is headquartered at 499 Washington Blvd. in Jersey City, New Jersey; its X account lists New York as its location.⁠[13][14]

Forbes: Official website: https://www.forbes.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[15]

Forbes: Public account: https://x.com/Forbes (opens in a new window)⁠[14]

Forbes: Public account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forbes-magazine (opens in a new window)⁠[15]

Forbes: Public account: https://www.youtube.com/user/forbes (opens in a new window)⁠[15]

Forbes: Public account: https://www.instagram.com/forbes/ (opens in a new window)⁠[15]

Forbes: Public account: https://www.facebook.com/forbes/ (opens in a new window)⁠[15]