Malcolm Forbes
Forbes in 1957
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from Somerset County
In office
January 1952 – September 8, 1958
Preceded byFreas Hess
Succeeded byWilliam E. Ozzard
Personal details
Born
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes

(1919-08-19)August 19, 1919
Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedFebruary 24, 1990(1990-02-24) (aged 70)
Far Hills, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Roberta Remsen Laidlaw
​
​
(m. 1946; div. 1985)​
Children5, including Steve, Kip, and Tim
RelativesB. C. Forbes (father)
Forbes family
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Civilian awardsPride of Performance (1983)
Motorcycle Hall of Fame (1999)
New Jersey Hall of Fame (2008)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1941–1946
RankStaff Sergeant
Unit84th Infantry Division, 334th Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War II
Military awardsBronze Star
Purple Heart

Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990)[1] was an American entrepreneur and politician most prominently known as the publisher of Forbes magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He was known as an avid promoter of capitalism and free market economics and for an extravagant lifestyle, spending on parties, travel, and his collection of homes, yachts, aircraft, art, motorcycles, and Fabergé eggs.

Forbes was also active in politics. He served two terms as a member of the New Jersey Senate representing Somerset County and ran two campaigns for Governor of New Jersey. In 1953, he lost the Republican nomination to Paul L. Troast, who had the support of most of the party establishment. In 1957, he was nominated but lost to incumbent Governor Robert Meyner.

Life and career

Forbes was born on August 19, 1919, in Englewood, New Jersey, the son of Adelaide Mary (Stevenson) and Scottish-born financial journalist and author B. C. Forbes.[2] He graduated from The Lawrenceville School in 1937.[3] In 1941 he received an A.B. from the School of Public and International Affairs, now Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, at Princeton University, with a 176-page senior thesis, "Weekly Newspapers - An Evaluation."[4][5] Forbes enlisted in the Army in 1942 and served as a machine gunner in the 84th Infantry Division in Europe, rising to the rank of staff sergeant. Forbes received a thigh wound in combat, and received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.[5][6]

Forbes headquarters, New York City

After dabbling in politics, including service in the New Jersey Senate from 1951 to 1957 and an unsuccessful candidacy for Governor of New Jersey,[7][5] he committed himself full time to the magazine by 1957, three years after his father's death. After the death of his brother Bruce Charles Forbes in 1964, he acquired sole control of the company.

The magazine grew steadily, and Forbes diversified his investments into real estate sales and other ventures. One of his last projects was the magazine Egg, which chronicled New York's nightlife. (The title had nothing to do with Forbes's famous Fabergé egg collection.) To honor his contribution to the magazine, Forbes won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 1989.[8]

Forbes was an avid but idiosyncratic collector. In addition to a huge art collection and a collection of historical documents, he collected Harley-Davidson motorbikes and specially shaped hot air balloons. He owned more than 365 works by Peter Carl Fabergé, including a dozen Imperial eggs.[9]

Malcolm Forbes' lavish lifestyle was exemplified by his private Capitalist Tool Boeing 727 trijet, ever-larger Highlander yachts, and his French Chateau (Château de Balleroy in Normandy) as well as his opulent birthday parties. In the mid-1960s he was a fixture at NYC's famous Cat Club on Wednesday nights, supporting local musical talent.

Forbes' Château de Balleroy

He chose the Mendoub Palace (which he had acquired from the Moroccan government in 1970) in the northwestern city of Tangier, Morocco, to host his 70th birthday party. Spending an estimated $2.5 million, he chartered a Boeing 747, a Douglas DC-8 and a Concorde to fly in eight hundred of the world's rich and famous from New York and London. The guests included his friend Elizabeth Taylor (who acted as a co-host), Gianni Agnelli, Robert Maxwell, Barbara Walters, Henry Kissinger, six U.S. state governors, and the CEOs of scores of multinational corporations likely to advertise in his magazine. The party entertainment was on a grand scale, including 600 drummers, acrobats and dancers and a fantasia—a cavalry charge ending with the firing of muskets into the air—by 300 Berber horsemen.[10]

Party favors included a custom-engraved Rolex watch for each guest.

Forbes became a motorcyclist late in life. He founded and rode with a motorcycle club called the Capitalist Tools. His estate in New Jersey was a regular meeting place for tours that he organized for fellow New Jersey and New York motorcyclists. He had a stable of motorcycles but was partial to Harley-Davidson machines. He was known for his gift of Purple Passion, a Harley-Davidson, to actress Elizabeth Taylor. He was also instrumental in getting legislation passed to allow motorcycles on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey.

Personal life

Forbes was married for thirty-nine years to Roberta Remsen Laidlaw before their divorce in 1985. The couple had five children: Malcolm S. Jr., Robert Laidlaw, Christopher Charles, Timothy Carter, and Moira Hamilton. Malcolm S. Forbes Jr., known as Steve, ran unsuccessfully for president in 1996 and 2000.[11]

While living abroad, his father returned to Buchan, Aberdeenshire, every two years, staying in the Cruden Bay Hotel, "to entertain people of Whitehill to a picnic". It was a tradition revived by Malcolm in 1987.[12]

In March 1990, soon after his death, OutWeek magazine published a story with the cover headline "The Secret Gay Life of Malcolm Forbes", by Michelangelo Signorile, which alleged Forbes was a gay man.[13] Signorile was critical of the media for helping Forbes publicize many aspects of his life while keeping his homosexuality a secret. The writer asked, "Is our society so overwhelmingly repressive that even individuals as all-powerful as the late Malcolm Forbes feel they absolutely cannot come out of the closet?"[14] Even in death, the media was reluctant to disclose his sexuality; when The New York Times reported on the controversy, they did not name Forbes in their coverage, referring only to news about a "famous, deceased millionaire".[13]

Death and legacy

Forbes died in 1990 of a heart attack at age 70 at his home, Timberfield, in Far Hills, New Jersey.[5] He was pronounced dead by his friend and physician Dr. Oscar Kruesi.[15]

Since Malcolm Forbes's death, the magazine business has been run by his son Steve Forbes and granddaughter Moira Forbes.

Awards and honors

Posthumous honors

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Malcolm S. Forbes". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ James, George. "Malcolm Forbes, Publisher, Dies at 70", The New York Times, February 25, 1990. Accessed November 25, 2017. "Born in Englewood, N.J., on August 19, 1919, Mr. Forbes was the third son of Bertie Charles Forbes, a Scottish emigrant who founded Forbes magazine in 1917. Young Forbes attended The Lawrenceville School and Princeton University, where he majored in politics and economics."
  3. ↑ "Notable Alumni". The Lawrenceville School. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ Forbes, Malcolm Stevenson (1941). Weekly Newspapers - An Evaluation (Thesis). Princeton University.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Malcolm Forbes, publisher, Dies at 70". The New York Times. February 26, 1990. Retrieved October 3, 2010. Malcolm Forbes, chairman and editor in chief of Forbes Magazine and a flamboyant multimillionaire whose enthusiastic pursuits included yachting, motorcycling and ballooning, died Saturday of a heart attack in his sleep at his home in Far Hills, N.J. ... Young Forbes attended the Lawrenceville School and Princeton University, where he majored in politics and economics.... Entering politics in 1949, he was elected to the Borough Council in Bernardsville, N.J., and from 1951 to 1957 served in the New Jersey Senate and then ran for governor on the Republican ticket with a pledge of 'No State Income Tax.'
  6. ↑ "Malcolm Stevenson Forbes". Hall of Fame. National Balloon Museum. 2011. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  7. ↑ Cable, George (September 9, 1958). "FORBES RESIGNS: State Senate Marks Nov. 4 for Election of Successor". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ Arizona State University. "Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ Yager, Jan (1998). "Patrons who make history" (PDF). Art Jewelry Forum. No. 4. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  10. ↑ Ellingham, Mark. The Rough Guide - Morocco (1998 ed.). London: Rough Guides Ltd. p. 81. ISBN 1-85828-169-5.
  11. ↑ "Forbes, Malcolm". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  12. ↑ McKean, Charles (1990). Banff & Buchan. Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-85158-231-0.
  13. 1 2 Gabriel Rotello (May 1990). "The ethics of "outing": Breaking the silence code on homosexuality". FineLine: The Newsletter on Journalism Ethics. Archived at Indiana University School of Journalism ethics cases online. 2 (2): 6. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
  14. ↑ Signorile, Michelangelo (March 18, 1990). "The Other Side of Malcolm Forbes" (PDF). Outweek (38): 40–45.
  15. ↑ James, George (February 26, 1990). "Malcolm Forbes, Publisher, Dies at 70". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  17. ↑ Malcolm Forbes at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
  18. ↑ Rothman, Carly (May 5, 2008). "Bruce leads first group of inductees into New Jersey Hall of Fame". The Newark Star Ledger. Retrieved February 17, 2015.

Further reading

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