Outlet profile

Forbes (Mayra Rodriguez Valladares column)

U.S. center-right (publication); columnist writes from financial-regulatory analytical perspective

Owned byMajority-owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments, a Hong Kong-based private investment group (acquired 51% in 2014); Forbes family retains a minority stake; Highlander Management LLC holds a minority interest. Steve Forbes serves as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief.

FundingPrimarily digital and print advertising, including sponsored BrandVoice content; supplemented by subscriptions, content licensing, brand partnerships, live events, and e-commerce. Mayra Rodriguez Valladares writes as an outside contributor, not a salaried Forbes employee.

On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Forbes was founded in 1917 by Scottish immigrant B.C. Forbes, who set the magazine apart by profiling business leaders rather than analyzing balance sheets alone. The Forbes family ran the publication through most of the 20th century; Malcolm Forbes, who led from 1954 until his death in 1990, expanded its reach and created the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans, which became a cultural institution. His son Steve Forbes took over as editor-in-chief in 1990 and gave the magazine a more pronounced free-market, supply-side editorial tilt; Steve Forbes ran twice for the Republican presidential nomination (1996 and 2000) and endorsed Donald Trump in 2016. In 2014, the Forbes family sold a 51% controlling stake to Integrated Whale Media Investments for a deal valuing the company at roughly $475 million—the first time outside investors held a majority. A planned 2023 sale to entrepreneur Austin Russell collapsed before closing, leaving Integrated Whale Media as majority owner. Forbes has since shifted heavily toward digital media, branded events, and advertiser-funded sponsored content, and it claims a global monthly audience exceeding 150 million. Mayra Rodriguez Valladares is an outside contributor, not a staff writer; she is Managing Principal of MRV Associates, a financial consulting firm, holds degrees from Harvard and the Wharton School, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on topics including climate as a systemic financial risk. Her column focuses on banking regulation, capital markets, and financial risk, and her coverage of the Trump second term has been critical, examining issues such as the administration's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget, private-equity expansion into defense contracting, and the economic risks of tariff policy.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-07-11; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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