Malcolm Forbes

Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American businessman and politician most prominently known as the publisher of Forbes magazine, which was founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He represented Somerset County in the New Jersey Senate from 1952 to 1958 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 won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to incumbent Governor Robert Meyner. 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.

Malcolm Stevenson 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. He graduated from The Lawrenceville School in 1937. 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." 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.

After dabbling in politics, including service in the New Jersey Senate from 1951 to 1957 and two unsuccessful campaigns for Governor of New Jersey, 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 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.

Forbes was elected to the New Jersey Senate in 1951, representing Somerset 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 favorite Paul L. Troast. In 1957, he won the Republican nomination but lost by a wide margin to popular incumbent Robert B. Meyner.

In 1953, he ran for Governor of New Jersey. He was defeated in the Republican primary by businessman Paul 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 to Warren County state senator Robert 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," he was challenged by Charles W. Engelhard Jr., who controlled his family's large international mining conglomerate Engelhard and later inspired the Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. 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. Engelhard spent freely to match Forbes's self-funded political machine. For example, he bought the Somerville Star to compete with Forbes's own local newspaper, the Messenger Gazette. At one point during the campaign, Engelhard reportedly sailed his yacht down the Raritan River wearing a white naval uniform to attract publicity.

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.

Despite Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1956 landslide in New Jersey, Governor Meyner continued to grow in popularity. Although Forbes easily won the 1957 Republican nomination over Wayne 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 in 1996 and 2000.

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.

Forbes died in 1990 of a heart attack at age 70 at his home, Timberfield, in Far Hills, New Jersey.

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

1974 - Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement

1983 - Pride of Performance award given by the then President of Pakistan

1999 - inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999

2008 - inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame