Steve Forbes' bespectacled gaze travels across the Hudson River to the glinting skyscrapers of New York City. We're on the 10th floor of his glass and steel sanctum. The lifelong, free market apostle proudly declares “You've got the best view of America's financial hub from here!” — a window the size of an IMAX movie screen showcases the world famous Manhattan skyline. The new Forbes Media LLC headquarters was opened a few years ago, across the river in Jersey City a discrete distance from the creative destruction of Wall Street.
Arguably more recognizable than “Adam Smith”, Forbes inherited a last name and publishing empire virtually synonymous with capitalism. Forbes' father, the legendary Malcolm Forbes, invented a type of business journalism that glorifies extreme wealth and aggressive entrepreneurial success. The flamboyant pater Forbes “exemplified a kind of gleeful capitalism”, as the New York Times wrote in his obituary, “that relished the things money could buy.”
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