What Is Steve Forbes' Net Worth?
Steve Forbes is an American editor, publisher, businessman, author, and politician who has a net worth of $200 million. Steve Forbes is best known for being the former editor-in-chief of the business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive of its publisher, Forbes Inc. His grandfather, B.C. Forbes, founded the magazine, and his father, Malcolm Forbes, published the magazine until his death in 1990. Steve has served as an advisor at the Forbes School of Business & Technology, and he was appointed head of the Board of International Broadcasting by President Ronald Reagan in 1985. Forbes was a Republican candidate in the 1996 and 2000 presidential primaries, and he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 1996. Steve has published the books " The New Birth of Freedom: Vision for America" (1999), "Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish the IRS" (2005), "Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn't" (2012), "Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy – and What We Can Do About It" (2014), and "Reviving America: How Repealing Obamacare, Replacing the Tax Code and Reforming The Fed will Restore Hope and Prosperity" (2015).
1996 Financial Disclosure
As part of his 1996 Presidential campaign, Steve Forbes released a detailed accounting of his financial position at that time. According to his financial disclosure, in 1996 Steve Forbes' net worth was $440 million. A large portion of his net worth was attributed to the 35% stake in Forbes Inc. In 1996, Forbes Inc. was valued at $1.16 billion, which meant his 35% stake was worth $406 million. He also reported to own around $26 million worth of real estate, notably comprised of a 540-acre property in Bedford, New York, and several million worth of stocks and bonds.
"Cash Strapped"
As it turned out, that $1.16 billion valuation of Forbes Inc. in 1996 was very optimistic. That valuation was at the absolute zenith of Forbes' magazine and subscription sales. Over the next decade the magazine industry would see itself completely gutted. Forbes was not spared.
In 2010 Forbes Inc. sold its world headquarters in Manhattan for an undisclosed amount, though one estimate pegged the sale at $55 million. According to headlines at the time, in the wake of the 2009 financial crisis and plummeting magazine sales, the Forbes family at large was reportedly "cash strapped" and looking to sell many family assets.
In 2013 Forbes sold a 51% stake in its business at a significantly reduced valuation. A decade later the brand at large was worth $100-200 million and had already shuffled through several more owners and investors.
Early Life
Steve Forbes was born Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. on July 18, 1947, in Morristown, New Jersey. He is the son of Malcolm Forbes and Roberta Remsen, and he has four siblings, Robert, Christopher, Timothy, and Moira. Roberta and Malcolm divorced in 1985, and after Malcolm's death, "OutWeek" magazine published an article alleging that he was gay. Steve was raised in Far Hills, New Jersey, and he studied at the Far Hills Country Day School, where he became friends with Christine Todd Whitman, the future Governor of New Jersey. Forbes attended Brooks School in Massachusetts, graduating cum laude in 1966. He then enrolled at Princeton University, where he earned an A.B. in history in 1970 and wrote a 75-page thesis entitled "Contest for the 1892 Democratic Presidential Nomination." As a Princeton student, Steve and two fellow students co-founded the magazine "Business Today," which is the world's largest student-run magazine. Forbes has received honorary degrees from universities such as the New York Institute of Technology, and he is a member of the fraternities Tau Kappa Epsilon and Alpha Kappa Psi.
Career
Steve served as head of the Board of International Broadcasting from 1985 to 1993, then he started getting involved with conservative political advocacy groups. He spent three years as chairman of Empower America's Board of Directors, which led to him getting to know Jack Kemp, a prominent conservative politician who later endorsed Forbes in his first Republican Party presidential primaries. From 1996 to 1999, Steve was the honorary chairman of Americans for Hope, Growth and Opportunity, a "grassroots, issues-advocacy organization founded to advance pro-growth, pro-freedom and pro-family issues." Forbes helped Christine Todd Whitman craft her plan to cut 30% in New Jersey income tax over a period of three years, which was a huge factor in Todd's victory over Governor James Florio. Though Steve and Christine were longtime friends, he distanced himself from her during the 2000 Republican presidential primaries because of her pro-choice stance on abortion.
SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images
During both the 1996 and 2000 primaries, Forbes ran on a campaign of establishing a flat income tax, and during the 2000 campaign, he announced that he was in support of prayer in public schools and opposed to abortion, which were the opposite of his positions during his 1996 campaign. Steve supported issues such as health savings accounts and free trade, and he opposed same-sex marriage and drug legalization. In 1997, Forbes was one of 25 people to sign the Project for the New American Century's Statement of Principles, which stated that the U.S. needed to return to what made the Reagan Administration successful: "a military that is strong and ready to meet both present and future challenges; a foreign policy that boldly and purposefully promotes American principles abroad; and national leadership that accepts the United States' global responsibilities."
In late 2006, Steve became a member of FreedomWorks' board of directors. He has also served as a member of the National Taxpayers Union's board of directors and The Heritage Foundation's board of trustees. He has appeared on the television series "Forbes on Fox" numerous times, and in 2013, he took part in the NPR "Intelligence Squared" debate "Does America Need a Strong Dollar Policy?" with Frederic Mishkin, James Grant, and John R. Taylor Jr. In 2007, Steve joined Rudy Giuliani's presidential election campaign as a Senior Policy Advisor and National Co-Chair. Forbes later worked as John McCain's economic adviser when McCain ran for president in 2008. In 2009, Steve had an uncredited role in an episode of the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement," and he has also appeared on television shows such as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "60 Minutes," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Show with David Letterman," "The Awful Truth," "The Colbert Report," "The Daily Show," "Your World w/Neil Cavuto," "On the Record w/ Brit Hume," "Charlie Rose," "Fox Business Tonight," "The Ingraham Angle," "Fox and Friends," "The Record with Greta Van Susteren," and "The Faulkner Focus."
Personal Life
Steve married Sabrina Beekman on June 19, 1971, and they have welcomed five daughters together. Their daughter Moira is a journalist, and she publishes the magazine "ForbesWomen," which is dedicated to "coverage of the women who are changing the world through business." Steve has been a frequent passenger on Amtrak trains, and he was onboard during the 2016 derailment in Chester, Pennsylvania.
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