Malcolm Forbes B-Roll & Interview

- Transcript
That's clear. This can be candidates for an extract. Malcolm Stevenson for a man at ease at the helm of power a position he has held since the death of his father Bertie Charles Forbes in 1954. It was then that Malcolm Forbes took over the magazine his father founded diversifying its holdings with a collection of Faberge eggs equaling that of Czarist Russia and vast real estate purchases. Forbes himself owns houses all over the world yet calls this Somerset County estate his home. As editor in chief publisher and sole stockholder for the nation's largest business magazine one might picture Malcolm Forbes as a rather conservative establishment type. Yet throughout his business and political career Forbes has never been considered stuffy. He loves life too much for that belief. Forbes is a rather unlikely leader of the pack.
The New Jersey native millionaire feels equally at home at motorcycle poker races as he does running his 700000 plus circulation magazine momentos of his two favorite hobbies hot air ballooning and motorcycling share prominent spots in his Fifth Avenue office yet Forbes does acknowledge that motorcycling in the corporate boardroom makes strange bedfellows. I think that that's true I mean people regard it as almost a contradiction to be a businessman and motorcycle enthusiast and I just was I had a deprived childhood I never knew what fun motorcycling was. Forbes 62 started motorcycling at age 48 and says he only regrets the late start but he's more than making up for lost time by being successful in business. I'm able to afford. The motorcycles and take the time to do some adventurous trips on the motorcycle such as the one through Russia and up to the Arctic Circle and now trying to coming up with forks plans to ride his motorcycle from
Hong Kong to pay King. He sent the Chinese with a hot air balloon of their own. It's evident that Forbes does not take his hobbies lightly. He doesn't dabble he dedicates himself to the sport. Back in 1973 due to his interest in motor cycling Forbes led a fight against the Garden State Parkway is banned on motorcycles. He lost his appeal to the Supreme Court but succeeded in focusing attention on the ban. And in 1977 the New Jersey highway authority amended its regulations to allow motorcycles on the parkway. Forbes A motorcycle fight was not his only foray into state politics. His political career began in 1949 when he was elected to the Birdsville Borough Council. He was elected to the state senate in 1051 and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1953. He won that nomination in 57 only to lose the general election to the incumbent Robert minor. Well he returned to politics and I used to be amused when somebody would say gee
it's wonderful with such a fine young man is active in politics I thought to myself God try to keep me out of it I love that. When I did go out of it at the suggestion of a minority I lacked a majority. I was retired in effect by the voters. I had planned to go back and then I got caught up in the conduct of our business and nothing now nothing could make me go back personally and the politics I've discovered it's much more fun to be giving people in public life advice which we do copiously and force magazine than it is to be getting advice as you are when you're in public life everybody is telling you what you should be doing and giving you what Hofer not. So Forbes returned to his magazine where he's made a name for giving advice so much so that his magazine is known as the capitalist tool.
We evaluate the performance of companies in a fact it's a tool of capitalism and we. We make no apologies for the system we're just trying to be sure the thing works as best it can. Forbes disliked for taking other people's advice is evident in his hobbies his wife he says has a ringing lack of enthusiasm for his ballooning in motorcycling. Yet despite her advice Forbes continues both he tried ballooning 10 years ago and was hooked. Today he own six hot air balloons he founded the first balloon museum and holds an annual race at his chateau De Bello in Normandy France. I think the best way to understand the appeal of the loaning is if you don't remember if you were a child and went to the circus or on some other occasion you know your parents buy you a helium balloon and you tie it on your finger or they tied around their wrist and tell you not to let go. But you're very tempted to let go. You want to see it go at the same time you don't want to lose it.
Well hot air ballooning. It's your fingers that you don't lose it you go with it. It's sort of a fulfillment of a childhood fantasy. Producer Jenna self-injure went with Forbes to experience that feeling crewmembers Kirk fizzling Joe Martin wrote in a second balloon Forbes's private buses follow the balloons since they tend to go where the wind takes them. The ride was a little like floating with none of the turbulence which normally accompanies a plane ride and landing except for the balloon carrying the crew was uneventful. Although Forbes is known for taking chances he's not foolhardy. He rules out certain feats a hard thing for a man who has set six world records in ballooning
and who was the first person to fly across the United States in a hot air balloon. And now that I'm approaching middle age I want to spend the rest of time in and doing more of it of a sporting nature the challenge we had made an effort to cross the Atlantic it was not successful. Now that's been done in the Pacific's been crossed the only thing the only challenge laughed is to go around the world and that would in my opinion involve the same type of balloon we tried to use to cross the Atlantic. That's the only horizon left on tapped and I'm. Our insurance people won't let me tap it until after I give up the insurance and I can't afford to give it up at least my children don't think I can. Forbes has four sons and a daughter three of the sons work at the magazine. The eldest Malcolm S. Ford Jr. will eventually have control and 51 percent of the magazine stock he will be carrying on when I'm carried out.
That way it'll ensure control the other boys in the business proportionately have shares. But if there's any money left after I'm through spending it blooms and motorcycles why they'll get the money and he'll get the 51 percent. You've certainly made your reputation as a successful businessman and now you've entered the world of ballooning and motorcycling. Is this something that you see continuing for the future of this world of excitement of the venture. Well I rap on wood I hope for a very long time. I'm not in charge of that I have this feeling you know where I sort of feel. You know dear Lord since I'm probably not going to make it to heaven watch it just leave me here for a while you know I think I'd like to stay around as long as possible if you can understand why I'm having having it so good now. I'm not I'm too. I might get my just desserts in the next round. So I you know I look forward to hopefully staying where I'm at for a while. Certainly made your reputation as a successful businessman and now you've entered the world of
ballooning and motorcycling. Is this something that you see continuing for the future of this world of excitement of the venture. Well I rap on wood I hope for a very long time. I'm not in charge of that I have this feeling you know where I sort of feel. You know dear Lord since I'm probably not going to make it to heaven watch it just leave me here for a while you know I think I'd like to stay around as long as possible. You can understand why having having it so good now I'm not half. I might get my just desserts in the next round. So while I look forward hopefully to staying where I'm at for a while.
- Contributing Organization
- New Jersey Network (Trenton, New Jersey)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/259-3j392955
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- Description
- Description
- No Description
- Raw Footage Description
- Kent Manahan report about Malcolm Forbes
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:09:42
- Credits
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- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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New Jersey Network
Identifier: F-977 (NJN ID)
Format: U-matic
Duration: 00:09:00
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Malcolm Forbes B-Roll & Interview,” New Jersey Network, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed August 17, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-259-3j392955.
- MLA: “Malcolm Forbes B-Roll & Interview.” New Jersey Network, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. August 17, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-259-3j392955>.
- APA: Malcolm Forbes B-Roll & Interview. Boston, MA: New Jersey Network, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-259-3j392955