Publisher, born in New York City, USA. In 1957 he became editor and publisher of Forbes, a struggling business magazine, and greatly boosted its circulation and profits, making him a millionaire. He had a passionate interest in ballooning as well as Fabergé eggs, of which he had one of the world's foremost collections.
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.
He is a graduate of the Lawrenceville School and Princeton University, where he donated the money for Forbes College, one of the five residential colleges at the University.
Career
After dabbling in politics, including a term in the state legislature and candidacy for Governor of New Jersey, he committed to the magazine full time by 1957, three years after his father's death, and after the death of elder brother Bruce Charles Forbes in 1964 acquired sole control of the company.
The magazine grew steadily under his leadership, and he diversified into real estate sales and other ventures. (The title had nothing to do with Forbes's famous Fabergé egg collection.)
Malcolm Forbes was legendary for his lavish lifestyle, his private Capitalist Tool jet, ever larger Highlander yachts, huge art collection, substantial collection of Harley-Davidson motorbikes, his French Chateau (in Balleroy, Normandy), his collections of special shape hot air balloons and historical documents, as well as his opulent birthday parties.
He chose the Palais du Mendoub (which he had acquired from the Moroccan government in 1970) in the northwestern city of Tangier, Morocco to host his 70th birthday party.
Malcolm Forbes became a motorcyclist late in life. His estate in New Jersey was a regular meeting place for tours that he organized for fellow New Jersey and New York motorcyclists.
Death and aftermath
He died suddenly in 1990.
In March 1990, soon after his death, OutWeek magazine published a cover story, "The Secret Life of Malcolm Forbes," by Michelangelo Signorile, which outed Forbes was a gay man.
The nine Fabergé eggs he acquired were scheduled to be auctioned in April 2004 by Sotheby's, with a pre-sale estimate that they would sell for an average of US$10 million apiece.
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