Forbes' top editor was reportedly fired after receiving $6 million
Randall Lane, former editor-in-chief and chief content officer at Forbes, left the company in July. The New York Times reported that he was likely fired after receiving $6 million from R.J. Shook, the founder of Shook Research, which runs joint projects with the publication.
According to The New York Times, Shook paid Lane the money after selling a majority stake in Shook Research to a private investment firm a year earlier. Shook Research has been collaborating with Forbes since 2016 to publish rankings of wealth management advisors. The company’s website lists 12 rankings of wealth management advisors and management teams prepared in partnership with Forbes.
The Associated Press reviewed an internal Forbes memo dated July 23 confirming that Lane no longer works for the company. The memo did not explain the reasons for his departure. A Forbes employee, who spoke to the AP anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that staff learned of the likely reasons for his dismissal from a New York Times article.
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Lane had worked at Forbes for nearly 16 years and had served as editor-in-chief since 2017. A person familiar with his position told The New York Times that Lane considered the payment a gift in exchange for the advice he had provided to Shuk over the years. In a statement to the newspaper, Lane acknowledged that he should have disclosed the gift and called his failure to do so a serious error in judgment.
Forbes’ editorial standards prohibit employees and contributors from accepting compensation, perks, or services from individuals, companies, or groups they write about. Lane and a Forbes spokesperson did not respond to AP requests for comment.
