The Outsider
Frank Slootman doesn’t start companies. But no one in business history has a better track record of turning the ideas of others into jackpots. With $80 billion Snowflake, the biggest software IPO ever, he has rewritten the playbook. And now he’s sharing it.
By Alex Konrad

Cheat for Profit
Students have always cheated, but the Covid-19-driven shift to online learning has turned a nagging problem into an epidemic. Meet superspreader Chegg, which has become the most valuable ed-tech company in America by connecting college students to test answers on demand.
By Susan Adams

A Billionaire a Day
This year Forbes tracked down a record 493 new billionaires—roughly one every 17 hours. Just over 40% hail from China; 20% are from the U.S. Prominent routes to new riches: IPOs, SPACs, cryptocurrencies and Covid-related health care.
Edited by Kerry A. Dolan with Chase Peterson-Withorn and Jennifer Wang

The Road Less Traveled
Most tech unicorns are the product of Silicon Valley VCs. Not Cloudinary. The marketing-software maker has gone its own route since day one. By Martin Giles

Travis Scott’s Corporate Shadow
Three years ago, the hip-hop superstar made the Forbes 30 Under 30 based on his music credentials. Now he’s helping major companies rethink their brands—and changing how celebrities and corporations interact.
By Abram Brown

Making Millions From Bezos’ Billions
Deep-pocketed investors are rushing to bet on Amazon’s third-party sellers. The stampede will change retail forever.
By Lauren Debter

Tory Burch’s Survival Sketchbook
Amid a luxury fashion apocalypse, one of the century’s greatest entrepreneurial retailers (and one of America’s richest self-made women) brought us deep inside the battle to save her brand.
By Deniz Çam

America’s Most Successful Women Entrepreneurs
Forbes has expanded our annual ranking of the nation’s wealthiest self-made women to 100, up from 80 last year. The pandemic has been kind to some, including an executive of work-from-home staple Zoom Video Communications, but less rosy for others.

Reed Hastings Rewrites the Hollywood Script
Netflix had already upended Hollywood when the pandemic hit. But by making use of a highly unusual management style, its billionaire founder has positioned his juggernaut to prosper like few companies in the world right now.
By Dawn Chmielewski

The Forbes 400
Pandemic be damned: America’s 400 richest people are wealthier than ever, up a collective 8%. Last year’s threshold for entry ($2.1 billion) holds, and even in these trying times, new mega-fortunes are still being minted.

Greater Capitalism
Our economic system suffered from a number of preexisting conditions—inequality, education gaps, cronyism—before Covid-19 arrived. But it’s already busy reinventing itself into something better, fairer and smarter.

Dukes of Moral Hazard
Thanks to the Federal Reserve’s low-rate religion, big companies have spent the last decade gorging on debt. Instead of heading into bankruptcy, though, they’re now being propped up by the government.
By Antoine Gara and Nathan Vardi

AGENTS OF CHANGE 
AS THE CORONAVIRUS UPENDS THE ECONOMY, HEALTH-CARE SYSTEMS AND GLOBAL ORDER, ENTREPRENEURS MUST REINVENT THEMSELVES, THEIR INDUSTRIES—AND THE WORLD AT LARGE.

Elon’s New Nemesis
WITH BLEEDING-EDGE TECH AND A $3 BILLION WAR
CHEST FROM AMAZON, FORD AND THE SAUDIS, SECRETIVE
AUTOMAKER RIVIAN IS ALREADY TESLA’S WORST NIGHTMARE.

Bloom and Bust
KR Sridhar’s Bloom Energy promised to turn natural gas into clean electricity “cheaper than the grid.” But after blowing through billions, its fuel cells have turned out to be outrageously costly—and not so green after all.
By Christopher Helman

Intelligent Design - 
From the unlikeliest of places, Melanie
Perkins grew design app Canva into
one of the most valuable software
startups in the world. Her digital tools
are populist, profitable and a potential
threat to Adobe and Microsoft.
By Alex Konrad.


FORBES BRANDVOICE - 
With IWC Schaffhausen
Previous 30 Under 30 Listmakers Reflect on the Turning Points
That Defined Their Journeys to Success.


Smoking Sensations - 
The Chainsmokers, the world’s highest-paid electronic-music
act, have a new identity offstage: formidable investors.
By Zack O’Malley Greenburg.

Forever Young By weaving together tradition and trendiness, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault has created the world’s largest luxury empire and a $100 billion fortune. Now he is ready to scale up. By Susan Adams.

Private Equity’s New Billionaire Machine As calls for taxes on the superrich grow louder, Wall Street’s smartest dealmakers have quietly discovered a new way to unlock value and circumvent taxes. It’s minting buyout billionaires by the dozen. By Nathan Vardi and Antoine Gara.

The Host With the Most With his acquisition of Starwood three years ago, Arne Sorenson created the world’s largest hotel empire. Globally, 20% of new hotel rooms being built are now Marriott properties—and Sorenson still thinks his company isn’t big enough. By Biz Carson.

Investors with Intent Never before has it been more on trend to do good with your dollars. Forbes has put together The Impact 50 to highlight some of the most notable impact investors, from billionaires to pop stars to athletes.

FORBES 4OO BEGINNINGS All great stories—and great fortunes— start someplace. And in our 38th annual ranking of America’s richest people, we focus on how The Forbes 400 got going. Spielberg had Jaws; Murdoch the Daily Mirror; Dell his dorm room PCs. There is no single path to the top.

The Anti-Trump Trumps Since their father became president, Trump’s sons have run the business in a decidedly un-Donald-like way.

Boss of the Bots Daniel Dines created the world’s hottest tech company, $7 billion UIPath, by unleashing virtual robots on office grunt work. He’s become the first bot billionaire in the process. By Alex Konrad.

America’s Top Wealth Advisors Despite turbulent markets and a flood of disruptive technologies, the nation’s best wealth managers are thriving.

The Fall of Overstock’s Mad King Patrick Byrne, the founder and longtime CEO of former e-tailing giant Overstock. com, made headlines recently by resigning, saying his involvement as a federal informant in the investigation of accused Russian spy Maria Butina made performing his duties impossible. That’s not the whole story. This is. By Lauren Debter.

Knitting the Future In three years, Rothy’s founders turned their 3D-knitted flats into the “It” shoe in women’s fashion with sales of more than $140 million. Now Roth Martin must balance expansion with fending off copycats. By Amy Feldman.


Profile: Masters of Disasters Murders, muggings, mayhem! While social media usually shows us a filtered and sanitized reality, Andrew Frame, the founder of Citizen, is harnessing 911 data to deliver a raw, live feed of crime and chaos directly to you. Is it the future of public safety or just a 21st-century police scanner? By Steven Bertoni.

Nature and Nurture Anne Wojcicki raised her genetic-testing company, 23andMe, from a wonky wunderkind through a troubled adolescence. Now her $2.5 billion biotech machine is ready to take the next step, combining big data and big pharma. Decoding the DNA of Silicon Valley’s most personal creation. By Biz Carson and Kathleen Chaykowski.

Serena’s Net Gains The most successful woman athlete ever is now translating her game and name into startup investing and entrepreneurial ventures. And she’s figured out a formula that will make it hard for her to lose. By Kurt Badenhausen.

The Richest Self-Made Women From Rihanna to Stitch Fix’s Katrina Lake, more women are creating new businesses and amassing fortunes than ever before. As a result, Forbes expanded our ranking of the nation’s wealthiest women entrepreneurs to 80 ceiling crashers. Edited by Luisa Kroll and Kerry A. Dolan.

GENTLEMEN AT THE GATE “Barbarians” Henry Kravis and George Roberts were the 1980s poster boys for slash-and-burn leveraged buyout dealmaking. Now, with trillions pouring into private equity, KKR and its peers have little choice but to build up rather than break up. BY ANTOINE GARA.

SPORTSMONEY: MANNY HAPPY RETURNS Baseball salaries are stagnant, but a few bright stars, like the San Diego Padres’ Manny Machado, still command huge paydays. Plus: the Most Valuable MLB Teams.

LANDMARKS AND LARGESSE It’s not just Notre Dame. The Washington Monument, Great Wall of China and Colosseum have all benefited from billionaire backers. Buy, hold, sell: Bring on the bubbly, jettison Koons.

BLOWING UP THE VENTURE CAPITAL MODEL (AGAIN) In just a decade, Andreessen Horowitz has backed a bevy of startup blockbusters—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Airbnb, Lyft, Skype, Slack—and made just as many Silicon Valley enemies. To stay ahead, it’s taking the unusual step of renouncing its venture capital status—and making even bigger, riskier bets. BY ALEX KONRAD.

NEW BILLIONAIRE: DOWAGER OF DENIM Levi’s is thriving again—and enriching members of its founding family, including Mimi Haas. Plus: the top-earning hedge fund managers and traders.

RICHEST BY STATE: JOHN OVERDECK New Jersey’s richest man is a prize-winning mathematician and a hedge fund quant. Buy, hold, sell: Snag the Sassen, sack the Pét-Nat.

SOCIAL SPIN DOCTOR Daniel Lubetzky has spun chocolate, nuts and do-gooder rhetoric into a snack company worth billions. Maybe someday he’ll get back to his true passion: changing the world for the better.

CHEAP THRILLS Peter Szulczewski’s Wish was the world’s most downloaded shopping app last year. Its ultra-cheap wares make Walmart look like Bergdorf, but his 90 million users can’t afford to care— and their impulse purchases have added up to a $1.4 billion fortune for Szulczewski.

TRUMP’S SECRET WINDFALL The president’s largest holding is a $900 million stake in two buildings that don’t have his name on them. It’s an arrangement that some of his tenants aren’t even aware of, and one that he tried his best to torpedo.

NEW BILLIONAIRE: MEALS AND MANICURES China has a lot of hot-pot restaurants. Zhang Yong’s chain thrives because of his unconventional customer service. Plus: the richest person in Texas.

SPORTSMONEY: THE NBA’S MOST VALUABLE TEAMS Each team is worth, on average, $1.9 billion. Buy, hold, sell: Heave the hot wine, capture the Chianti.

GOOGLING BLOCKCHAIN Google transformed the Web by creating an easy-to-use search engine. Now it could do the same for the technology underlying cryptocurrencies. BY MICHAEL DEL CASTILLO.

MEET AMERICA’S NEW REGULATOR: ADAM SMITH Nearly a quarter-millennium after publication, The Wealth of Nations has never been more prescient. As Trump deregulates, America’s best corporations, led by the Just 100, are taking the public interest into their own hands—profitably.

MICROSOFT’S NEW GROOVE Once dismissed as a hidebound has been, Microsoft is flying high. CEO Satya Nadella’s secret: a cultural reset that has lowered the gates to the software maker’s fortress—and cloud, cloud, cloud.

30 UNDER 30 An actress shaking up Hollywood with her cellphone, a scientist making milk without cows, an entrepreneur delivering lifesaving drugs to Africa—just 3 of the 600 young revolutionaries featured in our 2019 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30.

THE TOP-EARNING DEAD CELEBRITIES From Michael Jackson to Marilyn Monroe, these late celebs still haul in millions each year. Plus: Jamie Salter, super-agent to the deceased.

NEW BILLIONAIRE: DAVID C. PAUL The founder of Globus Medical is riding high on a million-dollar robot designed to make spinal surgeons more accurate.

NEWCOMERS: THE CLASS OF 2018 Even with the minimum net worth climbing to a record $2.1 billion, 15 billionaires make their debut on our ranking of the richest Americans. Plus: The Forbes 400 by the numbers.

THE PRICE OF THE (REALLY) GOOD LIFE The Cost of Living Extremely Well Index fails to keep up with inflation, making the luxe life relatively more affordable.

BUYERS’ MARKET From a $31 million Miami penthouse to a prize-winning lamb costing $300,000, eye-wateringly expensive purchases made by The Forbes 400.

BEZOS UNBOUND America’s most innovative—and feared—business leader is coming off a three-year run that has made him the richest person of all time. Now he tells Forbes he’s only begun to grow. Corporate America, you’ve been warned.

REALLY BIG SCORE Andy Dinh made his bones as the Derek Jeter of esports. Now the 26-year-old gaming legend owns one of the world’s most successful teams. But can he continue to dominate as billionaire moguls enter the arena?

MASTER BUILDER Tooey Courtemanche has crafted one of tech’s biggest secrets in Procore, a multibillion-dollar app bringing the world’s construction projects onto the cloud.

NEW BILLIONAIRE: MISTER MONEYBAGS No one thought South Korea was the place to manufacture luxury accessories—until Kenny Park came along. 

VINYL VISIONARY A dealmaker resuscitates the Victrola brand and makes a killing in, yes, record players.

TRICkS OF A CRYPTO TRADER How did an IT salesman and his buddies turn a bitcoin-trading sideline into the hottest crypto-asset management firm in Asia?

SEAT OF POWER: KEN LANGONE The billionaire dealmaker is in a reflective mood at 84, and his office is full of items to spark his memory.

FROM THE VAULT: JUNE 15, 1969 Polaroid’s founder scored a massive fortune by slowly developing his camera business. 

THE OLIGARCHS SCORE BIG It was inevitable: The usual cast of Russian cronies are getting rich off the World Cup. Plus: a way to buy Robin Hood’s hideout.

NEW BILLIONAIRE: FOUNDER’S REFRAIN Spotify may be public now, but that doesn’t mean cofounder Daniel Ek plans to let anyone else set the company’s rhythm. 

WALL STREET’S RICHEST: HEDGEMONY Our annual ranking of the top-earning hedge funders shows even the kings of Wall Street suffer from income disparity. 

FROM THE VAULT: THE FIRST RED SCARE— MARCH 22, 1919 Decades before McCarthyism, anticommunist paranoia gripped America.

30 UNDER 30 ASIA: PETAL PUSHER Su Chunzi ditched her VC job to grow Flowerplus, a bouquetsubscription service, into a startup with $100 million in sales. 

FINTECH’S HAPPY PLUMBERS Plaid is approaching a billion-dollar valuation by building the pipes that connect apps to checking accounts. Will the big banks try to snuff it?

THE MAESTRO OF MERGERS Billionaire roll-up artist Bradley Jacobs has spent more than $7 billion assembling a sprawling logistics company. Now he’s tuning it up to deliver big profits.  

PIZZA UNCHAINED The success of Domino’s, Papa John’s and the rest of Big Pizza has devastated mom-and-pop pie shops. Slice is helping the little guys unite, get online—and fight back.

PERFECT TIMING On his 55-year journey from penniless Italian immigrant to multibillionaire cable magnate, Rocco Commisso has shown an uncanny knack for being at the right place at the right moment— and taking full advantage of it. 

BILLION-DOLLAR CHECKOUT After a corruption crackdown in Saudi Arabia and the asset handover that ensued, Forbes ejects the country’s formerly super-rich.

THE WORLD’S 20 RICHEST The list’s first $100 billion man (spoiler: not Bill Gates), a fresh L’Oréal heir and a new wealthiest man in Asia.

SUNNIER DAYS ON SESAME STREET After a merger knocked him from his CEO’s perch, Jeffrey Dunn considered globe-hopping. Instead, he headed to Harvard and then on to retool an iconic not-for-profit. 

FAMILY TREE Jonathan Saperstein began his efforts to professionalize and dominate the nursery industry with a hostile takeover of a grower—from his dad. 

BEST-IN-STATE WEALTH ADVISORS In the age of robo-advice, meeting clients face-to-face can be a real competitive advantage. Here are the top-ranked advisors in all 50 states.

THE HAIL MARY RETIREMENT PLAN Looking to turbocharge your retirement account? Put some crypto in your IRA, but only if you can stomach extreme risk and high fees.

NEW BILLIONAIRE: RAZOR’S EDGE A November IPO lifts this entrepreneur from Singapore into the three-comma club. Plus: Billionaires remember the best holiday gifts they’ve ever gotten.  

DREAMING OF A POLYETHYLENE CHRISTMAS Not your typical Silicon Valley company, Balsam Brands sells fake Christmas trees and makes real profits.  

BLACKROCK’S EDGE How do you stay on top when your core business is a commodity and you measure profits in hundredths of a percentage point? You build the best risk-management software on Wall Street.

30 Under 30 - Ambition and impatience is on full display in our 2018 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30, an encyclopedia of creative disruption featuring 600 young stars in 20 different industries.

Star Power - Our annual list of America's top young innovators always includes famous faces and more...

April - May 2021

February 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

June - July 2020

May 2020

March 2020

December 31, 2019

November 30, 2019

October 31, 2019

September 30, 2019

August 31, 2019

June 30, 2019

May 31, 2019

April 30, 2019

Beyond its famed lists, Forbes has a unique voice in its coverage of global business stories. Whether it’s reporting on the “next facebook” or scrutinizing a new tax law, Forbes covers stories with uncanny insight and conciseness that hurried business folks appreciate. Read Forbes today for rigorous, to-the-point business analysis

Download your favorite titles and read them offline, anytime and anywhere

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines and newspapers from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from {{magCount}} best-selling international titles.

Name

Please fill out this form if you need any help regarding publishing your content on Magzter

Since we launched, Magzter has been committed to partnering with global organizations to provide the greatest possible newsstand technology & service to our customers. Whether you are looking to offer magazine subscriptions to your customer database or just want to learn more, Magzter is committed to helping your business grow. To find out more, please fill out the questionnaire below:

Forbes - February 2021

Get Forbes

Magazine Description

In this issue