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Steve Forbes

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Steve Forbes
File:Steve forbes foxnews.png
Steve Forbes
BornJuly 18, 1947
OccupationPublisher

Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes Jr. (born July 18, 1947), is the son of Malcolm Forbes and the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996 and 2000.

Earlier, he was publicly known as Malcolm Forbes Jr. However, during his run for the presidency, he expressed a preference to be known as Steve Forbes.

Personal life and education

Steve Forbes has a wife, Sabina, and five daughters (Roberta, Sabina, Catherine, Moira and Elizabeth).

He attended the Brooks School, a private boarding school, and graduated in 1966. Only 16 when the death of his uncle Bruce Forbes left his father in sole control of the company, he has spent essentially his whole career there, becoming president of Forbes Inc. in 1980 and succeeding as editor-in-chief on his father's death in 1990. His brothers Christopher Forbes, vice chairman, Robert Forbes and Timothy Forbes have all long worked for the magazine or at least the parent company as well. Malcolm Forbes left Steve 51% of the voting shares, but a minority of the non-voting shares, in Forbes Inc., and announced this well in advance, as he wanted the company to have a clear leader.

In 1996, years after the death of his father, he changed the name credited to him on the Forbes magazine masthead from Malcolm S. Forbes Jr. to Steve Forbes. (He is not related to John Forbes Kerry.)

Political career and views

Forbes entered the Republican primaries for President of the United States in 1996 and 2000, primarily running on a campaign to establish a flat income tax. He also supported the ideas of re-introducing 4 1/2% mortgages and term limits in 1996, but dropped both in 2000 (as they were minor planks in his overall platform).

Forbes' 1996 presidential campaign was based in Bedminster, NJ. His staff included several former Jack Kemp staffers and supporters who had been lined up to work for Kemp's own aborted 1996 presidential campaign. These included campaign manager Bill Dal Col, finance director Linda Pell, general counsel Paul Sullivan and deputy general counsel Jim Riley.

When Forbes ran for president in 1996 and 2000, he sold some of his Forbes Inc. voting shares to other family members to help finance his run. He did not come close to securing the Republican nomination, despite winning the Arizona and Delaware Primaries in 1996 and getting some significant shares of the vote in other primaries. After dropping out early in the 2000 primary season, he returned to heading the magazine and company.

Major issues Forbes supports include free trade, medical savings accounts, and allowing people to opt out 75% of Social Security payroll taxes into Personal Retirement Accounts (PRAs). He supports traditional GOP policies such as downsizing government agencies to balance the budget, opposition to pollution control, opposition to gun control and drug legalization, tough crime laws and support for the death penalty, and school vouchers. In terms of foreign policy, he called for a "US not UN foreign policy" (which comprised of anti-IMF sentiments, pro-Israeli sentiment, opposition to MFN with China, and anti-UN sentiment.) He also supports SDI and tougher immigration laws.

His flat tax plan has changed slightly. In 1996 he supported a flat tax of 17% on all personal and corporate earned income (unearned income such as capital gains, pensions, inheritance, and savings would be exempt.) However, he supported keeping the first $33,000 of income exempt. In 2000 he maintained the same plan, but instead of each person receiving an exemption of $33,000, it more closely resembled the Armey Plan (Forbes's version called for a $13,000 per adult and $5,000 per dependent deduction). Technically, however, this is not a flat tax, according to economic writer and lecturer Douglas Dunn, who in his paper "flat tax fiasco" points out a true flat tax has no zero bracket. Observers noted that Forbes stood to save substantial amounts in taxes if such a proposal was enacted. Indeed, Forbes himself is quite wealthy, with a net worth upwards of $435 million. In response to this criticism, Forbes promised in his 2000 campaign to exempt himself from the benefits of the flat tax.

In his 2000 campaign, Forbes professed his support for social conservatism along with his supply-side economics. Despite holding opposite positions in 1996, for the 2000 campaign, Forbes announced he was adamantly opposed to abortion and supported prayer in public schools.

Steve Forbes was one of the signers of the Statement of Principles of Project for the New American Century (PNAC) on June 3, 1997. In December, 2006, he joined the board of directors of the grassroots advocacy organization FreedomWorks.

He is a frequent panelist on the television program Forbes on Fox, which also features members of the Forbes magazine staff, and is shown Saturday mornings on Fox News Channel at 11:00 AM EST.

Political donations

Examining donations from 1999 to 2006, the website campaignmoney.com lists Forbes as the 4th most important contributor of political funds in America, with 15 donations totalling $7,055,000.

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