Forbes Ousts Top Editor Over Undisclosed $6M 'Gift'

Forbes' longtime top editor is out after the magazine learned he quietly took about $6 million from a key business partner, sources tell the New York Times. Randall Lane, chief content officer until last month, allegedly received the money from RJ Shook, whose firm Shook Research has produced Forbes-branded rankings of financial advisers since 2016. The sources say the payment followed Shook's sale of a majority stake in his company to private equity firm PPC Enterprises last August.

Lane, 58, called the money an undisclosed personal "gift" from a friend in recognition of years of informal advice, and said he "made a mistake" by not reporting it. Forbes policy bans employees from personally profiting from company business relationships. The payment surfaced during PPC's review of Shook Research emails; Lane was fired in July and replaced on an interim basis by executive editor Kerry Lauerman. See the full article at the Times.