Malcolm Forbes

Malcolm Stevenson Forbes
Born	August 19, 1919(1919-08-19)[1] Brooklyn, New York
Died	February 24, 1990(1990-02-24) (aged 70) Far Hills, New Jersey
Nationality	US
Education	A.B., 1941. Political science
Alma mater	Lawrenceville School, Princeton University[1]
Occupation	Publisher, businessman
Known for	Promoter of capitalism, lavish lifestyle, art collector, motorcyclist, balloonist[1]
Net worth	$400 million to $1 billion[1]
Term	New Jersey state Senator (1951–58)[1]
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Adelaide Forbes
Children	Steve Forbes, Christopher Forbes
Parents	B. C. Forbes
Relatives	Forbes family (publishers)
Awards	Motorcycle Hall of Fame 1999[2]
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1941-1946[3]
Rank	Staff Sergeant[3]
Unit	334th Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division[3]
Awards	Bronze Star Medal[3] Purple Heart[3]

Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was publisher of Forbes magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes and today run by his son Steve Forbes.

Life and career

Forbes was born in Brooklyn on August 19, 1919 to B. C. Forbes and Adelaide Stevenson. He graduated from the Lawrenceville School and Princeton University.^[4]

Forbes Magazine headquarters, New York City

After dabbling in politics, including service in the New Jersey Senate from 1951 to 1957 and candidacy for Governor of New Jersey,^[4] he committed to the magazine full time 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 under his leadership, and he diversified 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.)

Malcolm Forbes had a lavish lifestyle, his private Capitalist Tool Boeing 727 trijet, ever larger Highlander yachts, huge art collection, substantial collection of Harley-Davidson motorbikes, his French Chateau (near Bayeux, Normandy, in Balleroy), his collections of special shape hot air balloons and historical documents, as well as his opulent birthday parties. Additionally in the mid-1960s he was a fixture at NYC's famous Cat Club on Wednesday nights, supporting local musical talents.

He chose the Palais Mendoub (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 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, half a dozen US 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 which ends with the firing of muskets into the air - by 300 Berber horsemen.

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 cars-only Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. He was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.^[2]

Death

Forbes died in 1990 of a heart attack, at his home in Far Hills, New Jersey.^[4] 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 outed Forbes as a gay man.^[5] 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?"^[6] Even in death, the media was reluctant to disclose his sexuality; the New York Times would refer only to him as a "famous, deceased millionaire"^[5] while reporting on the controversy.

See also

Biography portal

• Forbes Museum of Tangier

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Forbes, Malcolm S.." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Library Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 26 May 2011.
2. ^ ^{a b} Malcolm Forbes at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Malcolm Stevenson Forbes". Hall of Fame. National Balloon Museum. 2011. http://www.nationalballoonmuseum.com/HallofFame/MalcolmStevensonForbes.aspx. Retrieved 26 May 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Malcolm Forbes, Publisher, Dies at 70". New York Times. February 26, 1990. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEFDC1438F935A15751C0A966958260. Retrieved 2010-10-03. "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.'" 
5. ^ ^{a b} 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. http://journalism.indiana.edu/resources/ethics/invading-privacy/the-ethics-of-outing/. Retrieved 2007-12-03. 
6. ^ Signorile, Michelangelo (March 18, 1990). "The Other Side of Malcolm Forbes". Outweek (38): 40–45. http://outweek.net/pdfs/ow_38.pdf. 

External links

• Malcolm Forbes at Find a Grave
• Forbes, Malcolm (June 1987), "The Art of Motorcycle Touring; Driving a motorcycle across the country or around the globe begins with the right equipment — and lots of friends", Popular Mechanics (Hearst Magazines) 164 (6): 90–94, 132, ISSN 0032-4558, http://books.google.com/books?id=e-MDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA90, retrieved 2011-05-22 

Party political offices
Preceded by Paul L. Troast	Republican Nominee for Governor of New Jersey 1957	Succeeded by James P. Mitchell

Persondata
Name	Forbes, Malcolm
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 19, 1919
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York
Date of death	February 24, 1990
Place of death	Far Hills, New Jersey