Company History and Ownership Changes
– Forbes magazine was founded by B.C. Forbes and Walter Drey in 1917.
– The original name of the magazine was ‘Forbes: Devoted to Doers and Doings.’
– B.C. Forbes served as the editor-in-chief until his death in 1954.
– Bruce Forbes took over after his father’s death and focused on streamlining operations and marketing.
– Malcolm Forbes became president and CEO of Forbes magazine after Bruce’s death.
– Forbes sold its headquarters building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to New York University in January 2010.
– The company continued to occupy the space under a five-year sale-leaseback arrangement.
– Forbes relocated its headquarters to Jersey City, New Jersey in 2014.
– Forbes Media was put up for sale in November 2013.
– Hong Kong-based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments purchased a 51% majority stake in the company in July 2014.
– There have been instances of editorial meddling on stories involving China since the sale.
– Forbes announced plans to go public via a merger with Magnum Opus Acquisition in August 2021.
– Cryptocurrency exchange Binance acquired a $200 million stake in Forbes as a result of the SPAC flotation.
– The SPAC merger was terminated in June 2022 due to unfavorable market conditions.
– Forbes announced in August 2022 that it was exploring a sale of its business.
– A deal for billionaire Austin Russell to acquire an 82% stake in Forbes collapsed in November 2023.
Forbes.com and Digital Presence
– Forbes.com is part of Forbes Digital, a division of Forbes Media LLC.
– Forbes.com reaches more than 27 million unique visitors each month.
– Forbes.com is known as the ‘Home Page for the World’s Business Leaders.’
– Forbes.com is one of the world’s most widely visited business websites.
– Forbes.com is affiliated with RealClearPolitics and offers a social networking app called Stream.
Forbes’ Business Model and Reputation
– Forbes is one of the top five financial sites by traffic.
– The company generates an estimated $70-80 million in annual revenue.
– Forbes publishes 100 articles per day produced by 3,000 outside contributors.
– The contributor model has been criticized for enabling pay-to-play journalism.
– Forbes has been accused of being a platform for scams and bad journalism.
Forbes’ Revenue Streams
– Forbes.com uses a contributor model where contributors are paid based on traffic.
– The site has received contributions from over 2,500 individuals.
– Some contributors have earned over $100,000.
– Forbes.com also allows advertisers to publish blog posts through BrandVoice.
– BrandVoice accounts for more than 10% of Forbes’ digital revenue.
Forbes’ Content and Editorial Practices
– Forbes publishes subscription investment newsletters.
– The website features an online guide called ‘Best of the Web.’
– Forbes has been known for exposing journalistic fraud and hoaxes.
– The site publishes many lists focusing on billionaires and their possessions.
– In 2018, Forbes deleted an article advocating for the closure of libraries.
– Forbes blocks internet users with ad blocking software from accessing articles.
– The website requires users to whitelist Forbes before granting access.
– Forbes argues that ad blocking users do not contribute to the site’s revenue.
– Malware attacks have been reported on the Forbes site.
