Malcolm Forbes | |
|---|---|
 Forbes in 1957 | |
| Member of theNew Jersey Senate fromSomerset County | |
| In office January 1952 – September 8, 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Freas Hess |
| Succeeded by | William E. Ozzard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1919-08-19)August 19, 1919 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | February 24, 1990(1990-02-24) (aged 70) Far Hills, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, includingSteve andChristopher |
| Relatives | B. C. Forbes (father) Forbes family |
| Education | Princeton University (AB) |
| Civilian awards | Pride 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 service | 1941–1946 |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Unit | 84th Infantry Division, 334th Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Military awards | Bronze Star Purple Heart |
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990)[1] was an American businessman and politician most prominently known as the publisher ofForbes magazine, which was founded by his fatherB. C. Forbes. He representedSomerset County in theNew Jersey Senate from 1952 to 1958 and ran two campaigns for Governor of New Jersey. In 1953, he lost theRepublican nomination toPaul L. Troast, who had the support of most of the party establishment. In 1957, he won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to incumbent GovernorRobert Meyner. He was known as an avid promoter ofcapitalism andfree market economics and for an extravagant lifestyle, spending on parties, travel, and his collection of homes, yachts, aircraft, art, motorcycles, andFabergé eggs.
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was born on August 19, 1919, inEnglewood, New Jersey, the son of Adelaide Mary (Stevenson) and Scottish-born financial journalist and authorB. C. Forbes.[2] He graduated from TheLawrenceville School in 1937.[3] In 1941 he received an A.B. from the School of Public and International Affairs, nowPrinceton School of Public and International Affairs, atPrinceton 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 the84th Infantry Division inEurope, rising to the rank ofstaff sergeant. Forbes received a thigh wound in combat and received aBronze Star and aPurple Heart.[5][6]
After dabbling in politics, including service in theNew Jersey Senate from 1951 to 1957 and two unsuccessful campaigns forGovernor of New Jersey,[7][5] he had 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 magazineEgg, which chronicled New York's nightlife. (The title had nothing to do with Forbes's famousFabergé egg collection.) To honor his contribution to the magazine, Forbes won theWalter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 1989.[8]
Forbes was elected to the New Jersey Senate in 1951, representingSomerset County. He was re-elected to a second term in 1955 but resigned from office on September 8, 1958. While in the Senate, he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of New Jersey twice, in 1953 and 1957. In 1953, he lost the Republican primary to establishment favoritePaul L. Troast. In 1957, he won the Republican nomination but lost by a wide margin to popular incumbentRobert B. Meyner.
In 1953, he ran forGovernor of New Jersey. He was defeated in the Republican primary by businessmanPaul L. Troast, who had the support of incumbent Alfred E. Driscoll and 18 out of 21 county Republican organizations. Forbes ran as an outsider and conservative critic of the Driscoll administration. In a surprising upset, Troast lost the general election toWarren County state senatorRobert B. Meyner after Troast's campaign was undermined by a series of Republican scandals.
In 1955, Forbes narrowly won re-election to his seat. In a race later dubbed the "Battle of the Billionaires,"[9][10] he was challenged byCharles W. Engelhard Jr., who controlled his family's large international mining conglomerateEngelhard and later inspired theBond villainAuric Goldfinger.[11] Forbes had been heavily targeted by the state Democratic Party in order to preempt a challenge to Meyner in 1957, and the extremely wealthy Engelhard was their top recruit. As of 2013, observers believed this to be the most expensive state legislative contest in history.[12] Engelhard spent freely to match Forbes's self-funded political machine. For example, he bought theSomerville Star to compete with Forbes's own local newspaper, theMessenger Gazette. At one point during the campaign, Engelhard reportedly sailed his yacht down the Raritan River wearing a white naval uniform to attract publicity.[12]
Ultimately, Forbes survived by under 400 votes following a legal challenge and recount. Elsewhere, Republicans lost Senate seats in Burlington, Essex, and Salem counties, reducing their majority and raising Forbes's profile as a leading opponent of the Meyner administration.
DespiteDwight D. Eisenhower's1956 landslide in New Jersey, Governor Meyner continued to grow in popularity. Although Forbes easily won the 1957 Republican nomination overWayne Dumont, he lost to Meyner by over 200,000 votes, and Republicans lost control of the General Assembly. After his defeat, Forbes resigned from office on September 8, 1958, before the end of his second term, and retired from electoral politics.
Forbes was married for thirty-nine years to Roberta Remsen Laidlaw before their divorce in 1985. The couple had five children:Malcolm S. Jr. (Steve), Robert Laidlaw,Christopher Charles, Timothy Carter, and Moira Hamilton. Steve Forbes ran unsuccessfully for president in1996 and2000.[13]
While living abroad, his father returned toBuchan, Aberdeenshire, every two years, staying in theCruden Bay Hotel, "to entertain people of Whitehill to a picnic". It was a tradition revived by Malcolm in 1987.[14]
Forbes was an avid but idiosyncratic collector. In addition to a huge art collection and a collection of historical documents, he collectedHarley-Davidson motorbikes and specially shapedhot air balloons. He owned more than 365 works byPeter Carl Fabergé, including a dozen Imperial eggs.[15]
Malcolm Forbes' lavish lifestyle was exemplified by his privateCapitalist ToolBoeing 727trijet, ever-largerHighlander 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.[citation needed]
He chose theMendoub Palace (which he had acquired from the Moroccan government in 1970) in the northwestern city ofTangier, Morocco, to host his 70th birthday party. Spending an estimated $2.5 million, he chartered aBoeing 747, aDouglas DC-8 and aConcorde to fly in eight hundred of the world's rich and famous from New York and London. The guests included his friendElizabeth 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 300Berber horsemen.[16] Party favors included a custom-engravedRolex watch for each guest.[citation needed]
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 toHarley-Davidson machines. He was known for his gift of Purple Passion, a Harley-Davidson, to actressElizabeth Taylor. He was also instrumental in getting legislation passed to allow motorcycles on theGarden State Parkway in New Jersey.[citation needed]
In March 1990, soon after his death,OutWeek magazine published a story with the cover headline "The Secret Gay Life of Malcolm Forbes", byMichelangelo Signorile, whichalleged Forbes was a gay man.[17] 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 cannotcome out of the closet?"[18] Even in death, the media was reluctant to disclose his sexuality; whenThe New York Times reported on the controversy, they did not name Forbes in their coverage, referring only to news about a "famous, deceased millionaire".[17]
Forbes died in 1990 of a heart attack at age 70 at his home, Timberfield, inFar Hills, New Jersey.[5]
Since Malcolm Forbes's death, the magazine business has been run by his sonSteve Forbes and granddaughterMoira Forbes.
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.'
Quotations related toMalcolm Forbes at Wikiquote| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of New Jersey 1957 | Succeeded by |
