Forbes

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Forbes Building on Fifth Avenue in New York City
Forbes Building on Fifth Avenue in New York City

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, Forbes magazine, is published bi-weekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published bi-weekly, and BusinessWeek. The magazine is well-known for its lists, including its lists of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400) and its list of billionaires. The motto of Forbes magazine is "The Capitalist Tool."

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[edit] Company history

B.C. Forbes founded Forbes magazine in 1917 and remained Editor-in-Chief until his death in New York City in 1954, though assisted in his later years by Bruce Charles Forbes (1916–1964) and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1917–1990), his two eldest sons.

On Malcolm's death, his eldest son Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes Jr. (1947–) became President and Chief Executive of Forbes and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine.[1] Between 1961 and 1999 the magazine was edited by James Michaels.[2] In 1993, under Michaels, Forbes was a finalist for the National Magazine Award.[3] In 2006, an investment group that includes rock star Bono bought a minority interest in the company.[4]

[edit] Other publications

Apart from Forbes and its lifestyle supplement, ForbesLife, the other titles published include Forbes Asia and eight local language editions.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.

The company formerly published American Legacy magazine as a joint venture, although that magazine separated from Forbes as of May 14, 2007[5].

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 14, 2007[6]. Those magazines have since been purchased by the American Heritage Publishing Company, and have resumed publication as of Spring 2008 [7].

[edit] Forbes.com

David Churbuck founded Forbes' Web site, Forbes.com, in 1996. The site uncovered Stephen Glass' journalistic fraud in The New Republic in 1998, an article that drew attention to internet journalism. The site, like the magazine, publishes many lists focusing on billionaires and their possessions, especially expensive homes, a critical aspect of the website's apparent popularity. [8] See a list of lists below.

Forbes.com employs the slogan "Home Page For The World's Business Leaders" and sometimes claims to be the world's most widely visited business web site.[9] The current president and chief executive officer is James J. Spanfeller; the current editor is Paul Maidment; the current managing editor is Carl Lavin,[10] who succeeded founding managing editor Michael Noer and Dan Bigman.[11]

According to Forbes.com, the Web site is among the most trusted resources for senior business executives, providing them the real-time reporting, uncompromising commentary, concise analysis, relevant tools and community they need to succeed at work, profit from investing and have fun with the rewards of winning.

Forbes.com also publishes subscription investment newsletters, a luxury-vehicles site, ForbesAutos edited by Matthew De Paula, and a luxury travel site, ForbesTraveler, edited by G. Barry Golson, the former executive editor of Playboy and TV Guide and former editor-in-chief of Yahoo! Internet Life, and an online guide to web sites, Best Of The Web.

Forbes.com is part of Forbes’ Interactive Properties, a division of Forbes Media LLC. Forbes.com and affiliated properties - ForbesAutos.com, ForbesTraveler.com, Investopedia.com, RealClearPolitics.com and Clipmarks.com - together reach more than 27 million business people each month.

[edit] ForbesAutos.com and ForbesTraveler.com

Launched in May 2005 by Forbes.com, ForbesAutos.com is a web site designed specifically for luxury car buyers and enthusiasts. The editorial content is written specifically for affluent consumers, with an emphasis on objectivity, comprehensive analysis and intelligent insight.

ForbesTraveler.com is designed for the affluent, discerning traveler. Launched in September 2006 by Forbes.com, ForbesTraveler is dedicated to inspiring, planning and booking the world’s most distinctive travel experiences.

[edit] Lists

Forbes creates many lists under various topics, the most popular being perhaps the List of billionaires.

[edit] Companies

[edit] People

In popular culture Forbes is perhaps best-known for its many periodic lists of net worth. As it often takes considerable detective work to determine the actual wealth of an individual, Forbes' figures are widely cited as nearly-definitive.

[edit] Places

  • Best Cities For Singles
  • Best Places For Business
  • Most Expensive Zip Codes
  • Most Expensive Rental Markets In The U.S.

[edit] Fidel Castro conflict

In 2005, Forbes listed Fidel Castro among the world's richest people, with an estimated net worth of $550 million USD. In the 2006 article "Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators", Forbes increased their estimate to $900 million USD.[12] The article notes that estimating net worth for government leaders is "more art than science", and points out that in the case of Castro the authors used a discounted cash flow method for several state-owned companies, and assumed a portion of that profit stream went to Castro.

Castro responded that he has a net worth of less than $1 USD, and challenged any one to prove that he has any money in overseas accounts.[13] Castro also stated that Forbes should place a bucket over their head.[14]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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