Bertie Charles Forbes (; May 14, 1880 – May 6, 1954) was a Scottish-American financial journalist and author who founded ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine.

Early life and education

Forbes was born in New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Agnes (Moir) and Robert Forbes, a storekeeper and tailor at Whitehill, one of their ten children. Forbes attended University College, Dundee, which was then part of the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

Career

In 1897, Forbes worked as a reporter and editorial writer with a local newspaper. In 1901, he moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa, where he worked on the '' Rand Daily Mail'' under its first editor, Edgar Wallace. In 1904, he emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he was employed as a writer and financial editor at the '' Journal of Commerce'' before joining the Hearst chain of newspapers as a syndicated columnist in 1911. After two years, he became the business and financial editor at Hearst's '' New York American'', where he remained until 1916. He founded ''

'' magazine in 1917 and remained the magazine's

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

until his death in New York City in 1954, though he was assisted in his later years by his two eldest sons, Bruce Charles Forbes and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes. Forbes was the founder of the Investors League in 1942.

Death

He died on May 6, 1954. In 1988, his body was returned to his native Scotland, and lies buried in the New Deer Churchyard at Hill of Culsh in New Deer, Aberdeenshire. While living abroad, he returned to Buchan every two years, staying in the Cruden Bay Hotel, "to entertain people of Whitehill to a picnic". It was a tradition revived by his son, Malcolm, in 1987.

Published works

Forbes authored nine books: *'' Finance, Business and the Business of Life'' (1915) *'' Men Who Are Making America'' (1917) *'' Keys to Success or Personal Efficiency'' (1918) *''Forbes Epigrams'' (1922) *''Men Who are Making the West'' (1923) *''Automotive Giants of America'' (1925) *''How to Get the Most Out of Business'' (1927) *''101 Unusual Experiences'' (1952) *''America's Twelve Master Salesmen'' (1952)

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Online Books by B. C. Forbes
a
The Online Books Page
at Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, B. C. 1880 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Alumni of the University of Dundee Alumni of the University of St Andrews American business writers American columnists American financial writers American magazine editors American magazine publishers (people) American male journalists British business and financial journalists British business writers B. C. Journalists from New York City People from New Deer Scottish columnists Scottish company founders Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish journalists Scottish magazine editors Scottish magazine publishers (people) Scottish non-fiction writers