Fortune was founded by
Time magazine co-founder Henry Luce in 1929, who declared it as "the Ideal Super-Class Magazine", a "distinguished and de luxe" publication "vividly portraying, interpreting and recording the Industrial Civilization."
Briton Hadden, Luce's business partner, was not enthusiastic about the idea—which Luce intended to title
Power—but Luce went forward with it after Hadden's sudden death on February 27, 1929. In late October 1929, the
Wall Street crash of 1929 occurred, marking the onset of the
Great Depression. In a memo to the
Time Inc. board in November 1929, Luce wrote, "We will not be over-optimistic. We will recognize that this business slump may last as long as an entire year." The publication made its official debut in February 1930. Its editor was Luce, managing editor Parker Lloyd-Smith, and art director
Thomas Maitland Cleland. Single copies of the first issue cost $1 (). At a time when business publications were little more than numbers and statistics printed in black and white,
Fortune was an oversized 11" × 14", using creamy heavy paper,
full color throughout, and a high-quality cover printed by a special process. Leading graphic designers
Leo Lionni and
Will Burtin were among
Fortune art directors in 1950s and 60s. As of 2018,
Fortune is published 14 times a year.
Marshall Loeb was named managing editor in 1986. During his tenure at
Fortune, Loeb was credited with expanding the traditional focus on business and the economy with added graphs, charts, and tables, as well as the addition of articles on topics such as executive life and social issues connected to the world of business, including the effectiveness of public schools and on homelessness. During the years when
Time Warner owned Time Inc., between 1990 and 2014,
Fortune articles (as well as those from
Money magazine) were hosted at
CNNMoney.com. In June 2014, after Time Inc. spun off from its corporate parent,
Fortune launched its own website at Fortune.com. On November 26, 2017, it was announced that
Meredith Corporation would acquire Time Inc. in a $2.8 billion deal. The acquisition was completed on January 31, 2018. On November 9, 2018, it was announced that Meredith Corporation was selling
Fortune to Thai billionaire Chatchaval Jiaravanon for $150 million. A member of
Thailand's wealthiest family, Jiaravanon is affiliated with the Thailand-based conglomerate
Charoen Pokphand Group, which has holdings in agriculture, telecommunications, retail, pharmaceuticals, and finance. Since March 2020, access to Fortune.com has been restricted by a
paywall. In July 2025,
Fortune laid off 10 percent of its staffers. At the time, the magazine had 360 full-time employees.
Fortune Indonesia Fortune Indonesia is an American global business magazine headquartered in New York City and published for the Indonesian region. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, a
global business media company. FORTUNE Indonesia is available in print version every month as well as an online news portal. Currently, Fortune Indonesia is led by Editor-in-Chief Hendra Soeprajitno. ==Lists==