Wally Forbes ’49

Wally died June 14, 2019, less than a month after celebrating his 91st birthday. He was the youngest of five sons of B.C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes magazine, and was the last of the five to survive.

Wally prepared for Princeton at the Lawrenceville School, majored in civil engineering, was the business manager for the Nassau Sovereign, and belonged to ASCE and Elm Club. After graduation he spent five years as a Navy Seabee, then attended Harvard Business School.

Upon the death of his oldest brother, Bruce Forbes, in 1964, Wally joined Forbes magazine with his brother Malcolm S. Forbes ’41, but left in 1969 for several business ventures. He returned to the Forbes organization in 1996, several years after the death of Malcolm, and headed the Forbes Investors Advisory Institute until 1988.

Wally married Betty Alden Goldsmith in 1955, and they had three children, Alden (whose wife is Cindy), Alexandra, and Bruce, all of whom survive him. He is also survived by his former wife, Betty, and by Thomas G. Lemens, his partner for 36 years and husband since 2016. We offer our deep sympathy and condolences to the entire family.