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Outlet profile

Forbes (contributor Peter Cohan)

U.S. center to center-right (pro-business focus)

Owned byForbes Media LLC; majority stake (~51%) held by Integrated Whale Media Investments, a Hong Kong-based investment group; the Forbes family retains a minority stake; Steve Forbes serves as chairman and editor-in-chief
FundingDigital and print advertising, sponsored content, brand partnerships, subscriptions, and live events; relies on a large freelance contributor network (roughly 1,700 contributors) working under flat retainers, per-piece fees, or unpaid arrangements — pageview revenue-sharing with contributors ended in 2024
On the administrationmixed

Background

Forbes was founded on September 15, 1917, by Scottish-born financial journalist B.C. Forbes and publisher Walter Drey as a business magazine subtitled 'Devoted to Doers and Doings.' B.C. Forbes led it until his death in 1954; his son Malcolm Forbes took over in 1957 and transformed it into a high-profile brand known for its 'Forbes 400' wealth rankings and a glamorous editorial persona. After Malcolm's death in 1990, his son Steve Forbes assumed leadership and twice ran for the Republican presidential nomination (1996 and 2000) on a flat-tax platform, linking the outlet publicly to supply-side economics. In 2014, a majority stake was sold to Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media Investments for roughly $475 million, ending full family control while Steve Forbes remained as chairman and editor-in-chief. A 2023 deal for billionaire Austin Russell (CEO of Luminar Technologies) to acquire an 82% stake at an $800 million valuation collapsed in late 2023 when Russell could not assemble the required financing, leaving Integrated Whale Media as the controlling owner. Forbes has long used a large freelance contributor model; it ended its pageview revenue-sharing arrangement with contributors in 2024 and cut dozens of contributors in late 2025. Peter Cohan has been a Forbes senior contributor since 2011, focusing on startup strategy and business growth; he also teaches management at Babson College and his work reflects his own analysis rather than the Forbes editorial line. Media bias analysts — including Media Bias/Fact Check, AllSides, and Ad Fontes Media — generally rate Forbes as center to center-right on economic matters, consistent with its emphasis on free markets, entrepreneurship, and low taxes.

Sources

  1. Forbes – Wikipedia
  2. Forbes – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. Forbes Media Bias – AllSides
  4. Forbes Bias and Reliability – Ad Fontes Media
  5. Peter Cohan – Muck Rack
  6. Peter Cohan – Wikipedia
  7. Austin Russell acquires majority stake in Forbes – World Business Outlook
  8. The Forbes Contributor Program Explained (2026 Edition) – Instant Press
  9. Forbes Trump Tracker
  10. Trump Throws The Economy Into Even More Uncertainty – Forbes

Profile compiled 2026-07-19; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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