Behar was born to aJewish family[3] inManhattan and raised onLong Island.[4] He is a 1982 graduate of New York University. Before joiningTime in 1989, he was a reporter and associate editor forForbes magazine for six years. He has also worked atThe New York Times as a researcher and writer. Behar reported extensively aboutorganized crime and the business backgrounds of politicians forTime, for whom Behar wrote a 1993 cover story on theWorld Trade Center bombing.[citation needed]
In 1991, he wrote "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", aTime cover story onScientology,[5] which won several awards.[6] TheChurch of Scientology brought several lawsuits over the article, all of which were eventually dismissed.[6] While investigating the story, he experienced some of Scientology'sfair game tactics. He later learned that a copy of his personal credit report, containing detailed personal information, had been improperly obtained.[5]
A 2003 report by Behar inFortune exploredDonald Rumsfeld's role in helpingNorth Korea build its potentialNuclear weapon capacity, in an article entitled "Rummy's North Korea Connection: What Did Donald Rumsfeld Know AboutABB's Deal to BuildNuclear Reactors There? And Why Won't He Talk About It?"[7] Behar is the only known journalist to have read the classifiedPhoenix Memo, the infamous pre-9/11FBI document which warned the FBI aboutOsama bin Laden supporters enrolling in flight-training schools across the country.[8] Reporting from Pakistan for Fortune magazine and CNN after 9-11, Behar's “The Karachi Connection” broke ground[according to whom?] by exposing a logistics leader of the 9-11 attacks—including his secret travels near the Afghanistan border just days before the terror attacks. A second article, "Kidnapped Nation" revealed how radical forces are undermining Pakistan's economy.[citation needed]
In 2000 Behar penned an article published inFortune titled "Capitalism in a Cold Climate" investigating the business practices of the billionaire brothersDavid and Simon Reuben in the aluminum and aluminum smelting business in the post-Soviet Russian Republic. Subsequently in June 2001, Behar and Time Inc. were sued for libel by the billionaire siblings, who built one of the world's largestaluminum companies,Trans-World Group. They claimed Behar defamed them in the article. Shortly before trial, in July 2004, the suit was settled afterFortune ran a lengthy "update and clarification."[9][10]
In October 2004, Behar left Fortune to pursue book writing and various independent projects.[according to whom?] In July 2005 he launched Project Klebnikov, described as a "global media alliance investigating" the July 2004, murder ofPaul Klebnikov, who was then the editor-in-chief ofForbes Russia. Behar also served on the advisory committee ofNew York University's business journalism Master's program (BER), and wroteMadoff: The Final Word, a book about Bernard Madoff, which was published bySimon & Schuster in 2024.[1] The book was initially purchased byRandom House.[2] During his research for the book, Behar exchanged emails with Madoff and also conducted three in-person prison interviews with him.[11][12]
In 2015, Behar and journalistGary Weiss co-founded The Mideast Reporter, subsequently known asMideast Dig, a nonprofit news site and investigative journalism project. Its aim is to deepen news coverage of the Middle East.[13] Weiss left the project in November 2015.[14] It became inactive in 2018 due to lack of funding and closed in March 2025.[15]
George Polk Award (twice): One for his 1995 story about the strong-arm tactics used by theAllstate Insurance Co. against its own employees; a second Polk for a 2008 story about China's activities in sub-Saharan Africa[20]
Business Journalist of the Year Award from theCity of London Corporation for articles about counterfeiting in China and organized crime in Russia's aluminum industry[21]
2008 Ed Cunningham Award,Overseas Press Club for China's activities in sub-Saharan Africa[25]
Jack Anderson Award (twice) for "Top Investigative Reporter of the Year" – 1997 and 1999
National Headliner Award, as a member of the CNN Investigation Team, for "outstanding continuing coverage of attacks on America and their aftermath."
SAPA award (Society of Publishers in Asia) for best feature writing for an in-depth account of the royal family of Brunei
"Best of the Best" award in 2009 from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), for an article on China's business activities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Fortune was awarded theNational Magazine Award for public interest for two articles written by Behar on organized crime's influence in the garbage-hauling industry (1997)[26]
^abRichard Behar,"Ruined lives. Lost fortunes. Federal crimes: Scientology poses as a religion but really is a ruthless global scam – and aiming for the mainstream", book rev. of"The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power,Time Magazine, May 6, 1991: 50, rpt. incs.cmu.edu, accessed May 11, 2007. [Part of "Special Report (cover story)".]
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