The Fall of the House of Forbes: The Inside Story of the Collapse of a Media Empire

by Stewart Pinkerton

the legendary name in finance journalism.  Synonymous with wealth, grand excess, glamour, and fun as well as style, insight, gossip, and hard-nosed reporting, the media empire and the family behind it form a remarkable story that has never been told. Now, in The Fall of the House of Forbes, veteran journalist Stewart Pinkerton reveals the hidden machinations, disastrous decisions, and personal foibles of a century-old dynasty that rose to glittering heights and crashed just as spectacularly. Writing from an insider’s perspective and first-hand sources developed over his twenty years as a writer and editor at Forbes, Pinkerton takes us to the ritualized formal lunches inside the mansion-like headquarters at 60 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan; the lavish advertiser parties on board the family yacht, The Highlander; the sybaritic private life of Malcolm Forbes and the family’s increasing discomfort with its patriarch; and the glory days of the magazine, with its news-making stories, high-rolling expense accounts, and bar-setting standards for anyone who aspired to wealth and its trappings.  But as the media business changed, Forbes was slow to react, and found itself burdened by Malcolm’s immense personal expenses, Steve Forbes’s bumbling, self-financed presidential campaigns, and the family’s hubris and hesitation in the face of reality.   A series of devastating business decisions and an internecine struggle for power forced the sale of the Faberge eggs, the vintage toy collection, the homes, the private island, the yacht, and finally the sale of 40% of the company itself to outside investors…a collapse of shocking speed after decades of unsurpassed success. A compelling narrative account of a powerful family’s dysfunction, The Fall of the House of Forbes is a parable of capitalism at its best and worst, and a metaphor for the current state of digital turmoil in media. 

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2011

About the author

Education: Princeton University, New York Law School

Contributing Writer at The Wall Street Journal

Past: Managing Editor at Forbes Magazine, News Assistant, Staff Reporter, N.Y. Bureau Chief, Asst. Mng Editor, Depty. Mng Editor at The Wall Street Journal

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by any media empire so I was really excited to come across this book on my library's new non-fiction shelf! I was not too interested in the brief chapters on BC Forbes's childhood, but I really enjoyed reading about Malcolm Forbes's eccentric personality and excessive lifestyle. I also loved reading about Forbes.com vs its print and the utter failure at integrating the two, and the Forbes brothers' blindness to how web can REALLY be leveraged. The history of the Forbes list and how it became legendary was cool too! A great read for anyone interested in media.

[Fred Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on my name, this is a tough title! I met Steve at an investment conference and had a few minutes to chat. My Forbes forbear arrived in the 1600's, his in the mid 1800's so our relationship is lost in the mists of Scottish history. I enjoyed the story of B C Forbes and the antics of son Malcolm. Stories told by a magazine insider were interesting. Good read, sad ending which is still in process.

[Der Buchenman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Всички тблоиди и клюли събрани на едно място. Почти никакви изводи не може да извлечеш от тази книга, освен непристойно и скандално поведение. Пълна загуба на време, ако не ви вълнуват жълтинки и скандали.

[Dima Pironkova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Тази книга хвърля надълбоко в света на американските медии и в сърцето на списание Форбс. Сигурно семейство Форбс се е хванало за главата, като е излязла от печат. Но е хубаво и важно светът да знае подобни истории, които са разказани по интелигентен начин и с намигване. История за това как едно бедно шотландче с талант построява корпоративна империя в страната на неограничените възможности и как синовете и внуците му я опропастяват от алчност и глупост. История за това, че семейната компания е много повече от едно богато семейство и държи в ръцете си животите на стотици служители, които от своя страна са жизненоважни за благото и просперитета ѝ. По-голямата част от 400-те страници беше интересна.

[Sofia Savova · Rating 1 out of 5]

Булеварден роман , целящ продажби и нищо повече.Стила на писане е таблоиден, което ме очуди при нивото на работа на автора. Историята разказва пикантериите около живота на фамилията Форбс, но не и действителните механизми ,чрез които губят почва под краката си.Очаквах повече журналистическа мисъл от автора и по-малко жълти изложения.Разочарована съм от биографията и не я препоръчвам за хора ,четящи качествена литература.

[Mila Ch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barely got through half of it. The story is obviously exciting and there is a lot to it, but it is very detailed and scattered. Maybe the translation is bad. I couldn’t cope with all the names and random situations.

[natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this is the year for reading books about places I used to work

[David Dietrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's far from dull, I'll give it that.

[Jeremy Diederich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the absolute raw display of capitalism both flourishing and failing. Pinkerton did a fantastic job.

[Patrick Clancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good detailed inside look at the Forbes family and magazine. Could be a little dry at times but plenty of interesting insights and overall detail about the financial publication industry.

[Michele Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this is my fault. I thought I would be reading about the family members, but no, it was all about the newspaper, the editors, the writers, etc., etc. I finished it, but it was a long haul.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

'If you don't drive your business, you will be driven out of business.'

Stewart Pinkerton has created a profoundly important book with THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF FORBES, not only because he has a plethora of inside information about one of the wealthiest families in America and is able to share the secrets of this money mad family with the reader, but also because he demonstrates the skills of a brilliant new writer. He has been the managing editor of Forbes Magazine (the topic of this biopic!) as well as deputy managing editor of the Wall Street Journal. If there is anyone more qualified to write about the ills of capitalism and the foibles of the wealthy, they have not stepped forward to deliver such an engrossing, well written book about he subjects as Pinkerton.

To dwell on the history of the Forbes family dynasty that entered America in the end of the 19th century to establish what was to become one of the most powerful and extravagantly wealthy publishing houses in the country is not the point of the book - though all of that information is there and reads very well. The fascinating subject of the book is really the raise and fall of Malcolm Forbes, obsessed with same sex affairs and trysts, motorcycle excursions across Europe, balloon expeditions, spending money on parties and other superfluously odious hobbies, a man who failed to heed the laws of risk aversion and failed to adjust to the growing change in type communication in the form of the Internet, and ultimately depleting the garish wealth of his family's fortune - a character that probably only Orson Welles could depict on the screen.

Pinkerton has a true flair for uncovering both the comic aspects of his characters without removing focus from the stupidity of the dealings of some of the family members. He makes the story flow like a novel rather than a biography. But in addition to the facility of his writing skill Pinkerton is still able to lay in front of the reader's eyes the status of the robber barons, past and present, the superrich, and the repulsive way that the upper class of this country goes about its daily business without a care in the world about the good of general society. It is all about money and Pinkerton tells it very very well. Brilliant book, this!

Grady Harp

[Ина Дилова · Rating 3 out of 5]

Очаквах повече. Много повече, но едва ли Пинкертън ми е виновен. Последните страници се опитват да наваксат жълтееща биографичност. И донякъде успяват. Има и безспорни попадения като..."Боядисан в любимите цветове на Малкълм – доларовозелено и златно – самолетът разполагаше с разточителен интериор". Разплакващо...Не знам дали Форбс са чели списанието си, но клишетата в журналистиката (и/или преводите), пък била тя и финансова, ще откажат и конкуренцията да чете. Определено е забавно четиво, с което да "убиеш" два часа във влака или да прогониш скуката на септемврийски плаж.

[Ema Takeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinkerton dramatically chronicles the Forbes family legacy and company management, and effectively spins his story into a page turner. Much of his narrative is based on personal recollection, public knowledge, and close contacts, and lacks support from the Forbes family. Nevertheless, the book gives intriguing insight into the Forbes fortress, and presents a revealing perspective of the publishing company that is applicable to the overall industry today.

[Ramesh Prabhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A venerated editor, a rookie reporter, and the sparks that flew between them, leading to a brilliant expose of Avon -- http://goo.gl/94lOD (The Reading Room)

Also read: Why amateur bloggers will never replace journalists -- http://goo.gl/5pcSr (The Reading Room)."

[Jack Goodstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insider dishes the dirt on the hand that once fed him--but it is filled with entertaining anecdotes.