His grandfather, B.C. Forbes, was a journalist who founded Forbes magazine. His father, Malcolm Forbes, served as a state senator and had two unsuccessful bids for the New Jersey governorship, in 1953 and 1957. In 1973, he began writing his own column for his father’s magazine, Forbes. In1990 Steve Forbes took over the magazine, and in 1993, he founded Empower America.
From an early age he became involved in the family business, eventually becoming a columnist for their leading publication. At Forbes, he showed a keen interest in economics and fiscal policy. Forbes proved to be a gifted economic forecaster, winning the Crystal Owl Award four times for his spot-on prognostications.
In 1993, Steve Forbes began his three-year stint as chairman of the board of Empower America, a conservative political reform organization formed by Jack Kemp, Bill Bennett and Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Steve Forbes had two failed attempts for the presidency. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000, but dropped out both times. Therefore, he has remained an active force at his family’s publishing business, and still serves as chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media today. He also still writes for Forbes magazine, continuing to share his views through his editorial column, «Fact and Comment.” He became a Freedom Works board member in 2006.
Additionally, Forbes has penned several books, including Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn’t (2012) and How Capitalism Will Save Us (2009)—both co-authored with Elizabeth Ames—and serves as a board member of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Heritage Foundation and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.