Forbes editor allegedly fired for accepting $6 million 'gift' from business associate
The top editor and chief content officer of Forbes left the magazine in July and was reportedly fired for accepting $6 million (about P368 million) from the founder of a firm connected to the magazine without informing Forbes management.
A report by The New York Times earlier this week said that Randall Lane received the money from RJ Shook, the founder of Shook Research. The firm has been collaborating with Forbes since 2016 in the magazine's rankings of wealth advisers. Shook reportedly paid Lane after selling a majority stake in his company to a private equity firm in 2025.
It remains unclear what the payment was for.
According to the Associated Press, an internal email sent July 23 confirmed that Lane was no longer part of Forbes. There were no other details regarding his departure. Sought for further comment, the company said it couldn't give any details or statements about the matter.
The Times spoke to a person familiar with Lane and learned that Lane believed the payment was a gift to pay for advice he had given Shook over the years.
In a statement lane sent to The Times, Lane wrote, "I made a mistake, and I take responsibility for it. I should have disclosed the gift and failing to was a serious error in judgment. I deeply regret that, and I lost the job and team I love because of it."
According to Forbes' Editorial Values and Standards, the company forbids "all staff members and contributors from accepting compensation, privileges or favors of any kind from people, companies or groups featured in their coverage."
"Any real or perceived conflicts of interest or relationships at all (financial, professional, legal actions, personal or otherwise) must be avoided and/or discussed with the appropriate managing editor. If approved, it must be explicitly disclosed in the story to readers to maintain their trust," the manifesto continued.
The company further wrote it will see an evasion of such a responsibility a "serious offense," which may lead to a review and prompt disciplinary action, "including removal from the platform."
A Forbes employee told AP the staff only learned about the reason for Lane's dismissal when they read The Times' article.
Writing about the dismissal, Forbes Union said in a statement, "Randall Lane consistently stood against the Forbes Union during his tenure. The Forbes Union reaffirms our demand for fair raises that we've been denied for years while our editor collected millions of dollars in secret payments."
"We demand management share more details of what they knew, when they knew it, if this is the only secret payment Randall Lane received, and why they refused to disseminate more information to employees," the statement continued.
