It began its life as a lavish folio-size monthly publication. In 1929, Time magazine publisher Henry R Luce decided to invert Fortune magazine. He expected it to be the most beautifully designed and illustrated magazine in the world.
After two years of planning, Fortune’s first number appeared in February 1930. To head up the editorial staff, Luce chose Parker Lloyd Smith, a brilliant Oxford graduate who did an excellent job in the magazine’s early days.
In its early days, Fortune’s circulation stood at theory thousand; nine years later it was well over one hundred thousand and this during the bleakest decade in the history of Fortune’s subject – US capitalism.
It thrived during the Depression and in the widespread anti-business sentiment of the 1930s and grew to become extremely influential in industry and public circles with a circulation of 250,000 by 1945.
Fortune magazine
