Bertie Charles Forbes (May 14, 1880-1954), better known as B.C. Forbes, was already an established financial journalist when he founded Forbes magazine. Born in Scotland, he had gone to work at 13, moved to South Africa in 1901, and finally to the United States in 1904.

He remained Editor-in-Chief of Forbes until his death, though assisted in his later years by Bruce Charles Forbes (1916-1964) and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1917-1990), his two oldest sons.