''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by

Henry Luce Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967) was an American magazine magnate who founded ''Time'', ''Life'', ''Fortune'', and ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine. He has been called "the most influential private citizen in the America ...

in 1929. The magazine competes with '' Forbes'' and '' Bloomberg Businessweek'' in the national business magazine category and distinguishes itself with long, in-depth feature articles. The magazine regularly publishes ranked lists, including the ''Fortune'' 500, a ranking of companies by revenue that it has published annually since 1955. The magazine is also known for its annual ''Fortune Investor's Guide''.

History

''Fortune'' was founded by '' Time'' magazine co-founder Henry Luce in 1929 as "the Ideal Super-Class Magazine", a "distinguished and de luxe" publication "vividly portraying, interpreting and recording the Industrial Civilization". Briton Hadden, Luce's business partner, was not enthusiastic about the idea – which Luce originally thought to title ''Power'' – but Luce went forward with it after Hadden's sudden death on February 27, 1929. In late October 1929, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...

. In a memo to the Time Inc. board in November 1929, Luce wrote: "We will not be over-optimistic. We will recognize that this business slump may last as long as an entire year." The publication made its official debut in February 1930. Its editor was Luce, managing editor Parker Lloyd-Smith, and art director Thomas Maitland Cleland. Single copies of the first issue cost US$1 ($ in ). An urban legend says that Cleland mocked up the cover of the first issue with the $1 price because no one had yet decided how much to charge; the magazine was printed before anyone realized it, and when people saw it for sale, they thought that the magazine must really have worthwhile content. In fact, there were 30,000 subscribers who had already signed up to receive that initial 184-page issue. By 1937, the number of subscribers had grown to 460,000, and the magazine had turned half million dollars in annual profit. At a time when business publications were little more than numbers and statistics printed in black and white, ''Fortune'' was an oversized 11" × 14", using creamy heavy paper, and art on a cover printed by a special process.Background
. ''Fortune'' was also noted for its photography, featuring the work of Margaret Bourke-White,

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...

, and others. Walker Evans served as its photography editor from 1945 to 1965. During the Great Depression, the magazine developed a reputation for its social conscience, for Walker Evans and Margaret Bourke-White's color photographs, and for a team of writers including

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time Magazine'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. ...

, Archibald MacLeish, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Alfred Kazin, hired specifically for their writing abilities. The magazine became an important leg of Luce's media empire; after the successful launch of '' Time'' in 1923 and ''Fortune'' in 1930, Luce went on to launch ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' in 1936 and '' Sports Illustrated'' in 1954. From its launch in 1930 to 1978, ''Fortune'' was published monthly. In January 1978, it began publishing biweekly. In October 2009, citing declining

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

revenue and

circulation Circulation may refer to: Science and technology * Atmospheric circulation, the large-scale movement of air * Circulation (physics), the path integral of the fluid velocity around a closed curve in a fluid flow field * Circulatory system, a bio ...

, ''Fortune'' began publishing every three weeks. As of 2018, ''Fortune'' is published 14 times a year. Marshall Loeb was named managing editor in 1986. During his tenure at ''Fortune'', Loeb was credited with expanding the traditional focus on business and the economy with added graphs, charts, and tables, as well as the addition of articles on topics such as executive life and social issues connected to the world of business, including the effectiveness of public schools and on homelessness. During the years when Time Warner owned Time Inc., ''Fortune'' articles (as well as those from '' Money'' magazine) were hosted at CNNMoney.com. In June 2014, after Time Inc. spun off from its corporate parent, ''Fortune'' launched its own website at Fortune.com. On November 26, 2017, it was announced that

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

would acquire Time Inc. in a $2.8 billion deal. The acquisition was completed on January 31, 2018. On November 9, 2018, it was announced that

was selling ''Fortune'' to Thai billionaire Chatchaval Jiaravanon for $150 million. Jiaravanon is affiliated with the Thailand-based conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, which has holdings in agriculture, telecommunications, retail, pharmaceutical, and finance. Since March 4, 2020, access to Fortune.com has been restricted by a

paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of ...

Lists

''Fortune'' regularly publishes ranked lists. In the human resources field, for example, it publishes a list of the Best Companies to Work For. Lists include companies ranked in order of gross revenue and business profile, as well as business leaders: * ''Fortune'' 500 * ''Fortune'' 1000 * ''Fortune'' Global 500 * ''Fortune India'' 500 *

40 Under 40 ''Fortune'' magazine's 40 Under 40 is a list of individuals the publication considers to be the most influential young leaders for the year. The list has existed in two phases: First, from 1999 to 2003, the list was presented purely as a numeric ...

* ''Fortune'' Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs *

100 Best Companies to Work For '' The 100 Best Companies to Work For is an annual list published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks U.S. companies based on employee happiness and perks''.'' Like the Fortune 500, the list includes both public and private companies. The list wa ...

World's Most Admired Companies100 Fastest Growing CompaniesThe Unicorn ListBusinessperson of the YearChange the WorldThe World's 50 Greatest LeadersThe Ledger 40 Under 40Future 50100 Best Workplaces For Millennials100 Best Workplaces For Women50 Best Workplaces for New College GraduatesBest Workplaces for Diversity

Editors

There have been 19 top editors since ''Fortune'' was conceived in 1929. Following the elimination of the editor-in-chief role at Time Inc. in October 2013, the top editor's title was changed from "managing editor" to "editor" in 2014. * Parker Lloyd-Smith (1929–1931) * Ralph Ingersoll (1932–1935) * Eric Hodgins (1935–1937) *

Russell Davenport Russell Wheeler Davenport (1899 – April 19, 1954) was an American editor, political consultant, and writer. Early life and education Davenport was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the son of Russell W. Davenport Sr., a vice president of Bethl ...

(1937–1940) * Richardson Wood (1940–1941) * Ralph D. "Del" Paine, Jr. (1941–1953) * Hedley Donovan (1953–1959) * Duncan Norton-Taylor (1959–1965) * Louis Banks (1965–1970) * Robert Lubar (1970–1980) * William S. Rukeyser (1980–1986) * Marshall Loeb (1986–1994) * Walter Kiechel III (1994–1995) * John Huey (1995–2001) * Richard "Rik" Kirkland (2001–2005) * Eric Pooley (2005–2006) * Andrew "Andy" Serwer (2006–2014) * Alan Murray (2014–2017) *

Clifton Leaf Clifton Leaf is an American journalist and was the editor-in-chief of ''Fortune'' magazine from March 2017 to July 2021. He graduated from Williams College. Awards * 2005 Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Award, also referred to as the Gerald ...

(2017 to present)

History

Lists

Editors

See also

Footnotes

Further reading

External links