Forbes Fires Anti-Trump Editor Over Secret $6 Million ‘Gift’

After years of throwing stones at President Donald Trump’s administration over alleged ethical concerns, Forbes’ glass house recently suffered a major crack. The global media brand fired its top editor, now-former Chief Content Officer Randall Lane, for taking a secret $6 million payment from the founder of a company with financial ties to the magazine.

Journalistic Ethics for Sale: $6 Million

RJ Shook, founder of Shook Research, a market research company that partners with Forbes, paid Lane the large sum after the private equity firm PPC Enterprises acquired a controlling interest in Shook Research last year, two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times.

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What was the $6 million for? Well, according to the Times, Lane claims the money was merely a gift to thank the journalist for years of advice. That’s some expensive advice. Did it have anything to do with the Forbes-Shook partnership? Forbes has repeatedly teamed up with Shook Research on rankings of top financial advisers and wealth management firms. The collaboration has been financially beneficial for both companies, playing a role in the magazine’s pursuit of a $630 million merger and Shook’s sale of a majority interest to PPC Enterprises.

“I made a mistake, and I take responsibility for it,” Lane told The New York Times in a statement. “I should have disclosed the gift, and failing to was a serious error in judgment.”  

A serious error in judgment indeed. One of the most fundamental rules of journalistic ethics is to reject gifts that could call a journalist’s independence, fairness, or credibility into question. Forbes’ employee handbook, which was reviewed by the Times, also strictly prohibits staffers from personally benefiting, either directly or indirectly, from the company’s business activities.

The Plank in Lane’s Eye

Lane has spent years scrutinizing Trump and his administration, frequently casting the president in a negative and even unethical light, but the pièce de resistance of Lane’s Trump Derangement Syndrome was an article titled: “A Truth Reckoning: Why We’re Holding Those Who Lied For Trump Accountable.”  Shortly before Joe Biden took office in January 2021, Lane wrote an article threatening any company or firm that hires the men or women who previously worked for President Trump. If you hire Trump allies, Lane wrote, then “Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie.”

“We’re going to scrutinize, double-check, investigate with the same skepticism we’d approach a Trump tweet. Want to ensure the world’s biggest business media brand approaches you as a potential funnel of disinformation? Then hire away,” Lane added.

At the time, the top Forbes journalist insisted he was “in the business of facts” and claimed it was “painful to watch President Trump’s press secretaries debase themselves.” Fast forward a few years, and suddenly Lane’s high horse decided to buck. By his own standards, he should now be scrutinized, double-checked, and investigated, right? Did Lane’s pricey $6 million “gift” play any role in his Trump administration blacklist recommendation? Forbes’ readers and former Trump administration officials deserve clarity and, one might say, a truth reckoning.