Fortune(magazine)

Fortune

Cover of the issue dated February–March 2021
Editor	Alyson Shontell
Categories	Business magazines
Frequency	12 issues/year (1929–1978) 24 issues/year (1978–2009) 18 issues/year (2009–2014) 16 issues/year (2014–2017) 12 issues/year (2018-2019) 10 issues/year (2020) 6 issues/year (2021-present)
Publisher	Fortune Media Group Holdings (Chatchaval Jiaravanon)
Total circulation (2018)	852,202
Founder	Henry Luce
Founded	1929(1929)
First issue	September 1, 1929(1929-09-01)
Country	United States
Based in	New York City,New York,U.S.
Language	English
Website	fortune.com
ISSN	0015-8259(print) 2169-155X(web)

Fortune(stylized inall caps) is an American global business magazine headquartered inNew York City.It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, aglobal businessmedia company.The publication was founded byHenry Lucein 1929. The magazine competes withForbesandBloomberg Businessweekin the national business magazine category and distinguishes itself with long, in-depth feature articles.

The magazine regularly publishes ranked lists including ranking companies byrevenuesuch as in theFortune500that it has published annually since 1955, and in theFortuneGlobal 500.The magazine is also known for its annualFortune Investor's Guide.

History

Fortunewas founded byTimemagazine co-founder Henry Luce in 1929, who declared it 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 titlePower– but Luce went forward with it after Hadden's sudden death on February 27, 1929.

In late October 1929, theWall Street Crash of 1929occurred, marking the onset of theGreat Depression.In a memo to theTime 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 directorThomas Maitland Cleland. Single copies of the first issue cost US$1 (equivalent to $18 in 2023).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,Fortunewas an oversized 11 "× 14", using creamy heavy paper, and art on a cover printed by a special process.Fortunewas also noted for its photography, featuring the work ofMargaret Bourke-White,Ansel Adams,and others.Walker Evansserved as its photography editor from 1945 to 1965.

During the Great Depression, the magazine developed a reputation for itssocial conscience,forWalker EvansandMargaret Bourke-White's color photographs, and for a team of writers includingJames Agee,Archibald MacLeish,John Kenneth Galbraith,andAlfred Kazin,hired specifically for their writing abilities. The magazine became an important leg of Luce's media empire;after the successful launch ofTimein 1923 andFortunein 1930, Luce went on to launchLifein 1936 andSports Illustratedin 1954.

From its launch in 1930 to 1978,Fortunewas published monthly. In January 1978, it began publishing biweekly. In October 2009, citing decliningadvertisingrevenue andcirculation,Fortunebegan publishing every three weeks.As of 2018,Fortuneis published 14 times a year.

Marshall Loebwas named managing editor in 1986. During his tenure atFortune,Loeb was creditedwith 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 yearswhenTime Warnerowned Time Inc.,Fortunearticles (as well as those fromMoneymagazine) were hosted atCNNMoney.com.

In June 2014, after Time Inc. spun off from its corporate parent,Fortunelaunched its own website at Fortune.com.

On November 26, 2017, it was announced thatMeredith Corporationwould acquire Time Inc. in a $2.8 billion deal. The acquisition was completed on January 31, 2018.

On November 9, 2018, it was announced thatMeredith Corporationwas sellingFortuneto Thai billionaire Chatchaval Jiaravanon for $150 million.Jiaravanon is affiliated with the Thailand-based conglomerateCharoen Pokphand Group,which has holdings in agriculture, telecommunications, retail, pharmaceutical, and finance.

Since March 4, 2020, access to Fortune.com has been restricted by apaywall.

Fortune Indonesia

Fortune Indonesiais an American global business magazine headquartered inNew York Cityand published for the Indonesian region. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, aglobal businessmedia company. FORTUNE Indonesia is available in print version every month as well as an online news portal. Currently, Fortune Indonesia is led by Editor-in-Chief Hendra Soeprajitno.

Lists

Fortuneregularly publishes ranked lists. In thehuman resourcesfield, for example, it publishes a list of theBest Companies to Work For.Lists include companies ranked in order ofgross revenueand business profile, as well as business leaders:

• Fortune500
• Fortune1000
• FortuneGlobal 500
• Fortune India500
• 40 Under 40
• FortuneMost Powerful Women Entrepreneurs
• 100 Best Companies to Work For
• World's Most Admired Companies
• 100 Fastest Growing Companies
• The Unicorn List
• Businessperson of the Year
• Change the World
• The World's 50 Greatest Leaders
• The Ledger 40 Under 40
• Future 50
• 100 Best Workplaces For Millennials
• 100 Best Workplaces For Women
• 50 Best Workplaces for New College Graduates
• Best Workplaces for Diversity
• 50 Best Places to Live for Families
• Crypto 40

Editors

There have been 20 top editors sinceFortunewas conceived in 1929. Following the elimination of theeditor-in-chiefrole at Time Inc. in October 2013,the top editor's title was changed from "managing editor" to "editor" in 2014.The present title is "editor-in-chief".

• Parker Lloyd-Smith (1929–1931)
• Ralph Ingersoll(1932–1935)
• Eric Hodgins(1935–1937)
• Russell Davenport(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(2017–2021)
• Alyson Shontell (2021-present)

See also

• FortuneBattle of the Corporate Bands,an annual music competition for amateur company-sponsored bands
• List of United States magazines

Further reading

• James S. Miller, "White-Collar Excavations:Fortune Magazineand the Invention of the Industrial Folk ".American Periodicals.vol. 13 (2003), pp. 84–104.In JSTOR

External links

• Official website