Online Encyclopedia
Forbes
- Alternate meaning: For the Boston Brahmin family associated with John Forbes Kerry, see Forbes family.
Forbes magazine is an American business and financial magazine founded in 1917 by B.C. Forbes. After his death in 1954 and his son Bruce's death in 1964, it was long synonymous with flamboyant second son Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, better known as Malcolm Forbes (1917-1990). Today the company and magazine are headed by Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr., better known as Steve Forbes (1948-), and his brothers.
In popular culture Forbes is perhaps best-known for its many periodic lists of wealth. These include the Forbes 400, a list of the richest people in the United States; a list of the richest people in the world; and the Forbes 500, a list of largest companies taking into account market capitalization, revenue, income, and assets (this is opposed to the Fortune 500 which is based only on revenues). As it often takes considerable detective work to determine the actual wealth of an individual, Forbes' figures are widely cited as nearly-definitive.
The magazine is headquartered on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The current editor is William Baldwin; the current managing editor is Dennis Kneale; the publisher is Richard Karlgaard.
Forbes has generated at least two spinoff magazines: Forbes ASAP and Forbes FYI .