Forbes fires top editor Randall Lane for taking $6 million from a founder: ‘I made a mistake’

Forbes has fired its top editor, Randall Lane, after it was discovered that he had taken $6 million from the founder of a company that does business with Forbes

Updated on: Aug 13, 2026, 14:08:09 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Forbes has fired its top editor, Randall Lane, after it was discovered that he had secretly taken $6 million from the founder of a company that does business with the publication.

Randall Lane was fired from Forbes last month.

The New York Times was the first to report the development. In a piece published August 12, it reported that Lane, 58, was fired from Forbes last month. He had served as the magazine’s chief content officer.

Why did Forbes fire Randall Lane?

Randall Lane received $6 million in payment from RJ Shook, whose company, Shook Research, has partnered with Forbes since 2016 to publish wealth adviser rankings.

The payment came after Shook sold a majority stake in the research firm to private equity firm PPC Enterprises last August, according to two people familiar with the transaction.

A source told The New York Times that Lane considered the payment to be a personal gift for years of advice he had given Shook.

Forbes, like most other media organisations, requires employees to get approval before taking part in any outside business activity. Its employee handbook also says staff members must not personally benefit, either directly or indirectly, from the company’s business dealings, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times.

What Randall Lane said on his termination

Randall Lane referred to the $6 million as a “gift” in a statement to The Times.

“I made a mistake, and I take responsibility for it,” he said. “I should have disclosed the gift, and failing to was a serious error in judgment. I deeply regret that, and I lost the job and team I love because of it. None of this changes how I feel about Forbes and the amazing people there,” Lane added.

A Forbes spokesperson confirmed that Lane no longer works for the company. They did not comment on the payment.

How the payment was discovered

In August 2025, RJ Shook sold a majority stake in Shook Research to PPC Enterprises, a private equity firm.

PPC Enterprises discovered details of the payment while reviewing emails at Shook Research after acquiring the company. The new management at Shook Research then brought the payment to Forbes’ attention.

When Forbes asked Randall Lane about the payment in July, he confirmed that he had received it. He was fired after that.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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