Shook Research worked with Forbes since 2016 on wealth-adviser rankings
The Times detailed the circumstances of Lane’s exit this week, reporting that he had received $6 million from RJ Shook — whose company, Shook Research, worked with Forbes since 2016 to publish rankings of wealth advisers. The Times quoted Lane as saying he had “made a mistake,” according to the AP’s account. The AP, in a separate story by reporter Laurie Kellman, corroborated key details including the July 23 internal email that confirmed Lane no longer worked at the company. Lane had worked at Forbes for nearly 16 years before leaving in July and had served as both editor and chief content officer since 2017.
The Times described the payment as coming from the head of a firm whose rankings appeared in Forbes. According to the Times, the payment followed Shook’s sale of a majority stake in Shook Research to a private equity firm about a year earlier.
Shook Research’s partnership with Forbes, which began in 2016, produced the rankings of wealth advisers that appeared regularly in the magazine. Forbes did not respond to AP’s request for comment beyond the July 23 internal email; a subsequent email sent this week said the company could not comment further on the matter.
A Forbes staffer, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told the news agency that staff learned of the apparent reasons for Lane’s departure by reading the Times story — rather than through internal communication from the company.