Conference nyoss1::market_investing

313.0. "FORBES/Brennan Feud" by SDSVAX::SWEENEY (Patrick Sweeney in New York) Fri Nov 20 1992 09:38

Copyright � 1992 Dow Jones & Co. from Wall Street Journal
Robert Brennan Hits Back At Forbes In Newspaper Ads

  By Anne Newman

  Don't try to sell gloves to Forbes magazine and stock promoter Robert E. 
Brennan: Between them, it's bare knuckles all the way.

  Brennan, a longtime target of Forbes for his controversial investment 
practices, paid for full-page advertisements yesterday in several newspapers 
headlined "Forbes Lies!" The ads showed covers of two Forbes issues featuring 
Brennan. A 1984 edition echoed the ad campaign for Brennan's First Jersey 
Securities Inc.: "Come Grow With Us, He Says." The older cover conveniently 
concealed Forbes's headline last month: "Why Can't They Stop Him?"

  Brennan's accompanying text accused Forbes of relying on "innuendo, guilt by 
association and distortion of facts" in its Oct. 26 story. The article 
asserted that Brennan probably has made "several hundred million" dollars by 
buying "shoddy merchandise," securities of shell companies, for pennies, then 
selling out at hefty prices with the aid of penny-stock firms that run up the 
prices. Investors, Forbes warned, often are unaware of Brennan's involvement. 
"Close the door, he comes in the window. Close the window, he comes in the 
door," the magazine cautioned. "So watch your pocketbook and beware of 
cold-calling brokers."

  Brennan also took a swipe at Forbes's publisher, former Defense Secretary 
Caspar W. Weinberger, who was recently indicted for his role in the 
Iran-Contra affair. "Forbes's publisher has been criminally indicted twice 
this year by a Federal Grand Jury," the ad blasted.

  Brennan may have felt compelled to respond to a Forbes Nov. 10 ad promoting 
the magazine. Featuring the Oct. 26 cover story on Brennan, it read: "We've 
fingered him twice. Yet the authorities can't lay a hand on him." In the 
bottom right-hand corner, it carried Forbes's signature logo: "Capitalist 
Tool." And a line at the bottom of the ad read: "No guts. No story."

  The New Jersey investor challenged Forbes to submit the articles to 
independent arbitrators to determine the truth. The loser, he added, would 
donate $5 million to AIDS research. "Come on Forbes," he goaded. "Practice 
what you preach. No guts. No story."

  Forbes wasn't blinking. Said Editor in Chief Malcolm S. Forbes Jr.: "If he 
feels the article was libelous, he can take us to court. We would win."

  Forbes also wasn't amused by Brennan's suggestion that an AIDS charity 
should benefit from the wager. "If he's in a charitable mood with his 
ill-gotten gains, he should give them away anyway," the editor said.

  As for Brennan's attack on Weinberger, Forbes said: "Cap Weinberger has 
served our nation well, undermining the Soviet Empire, which is more worthy 
service than spending a lifetime euchring investors."

  Brennan said in an interview that he launched the ad campaign to clear his 
reputation. He takes particular umbrage with Forbes because, he claimed, its 
reporters have never tried to interview him nor have they taken advantage of 
access to records he offered them. "I don't know another publication in the 
world that would report on a person for nearly 10 years without interviewing 
them, even when that access is available," he said.

  "Absolutely not true," fired back Forbes reporter Richard L. Stern. The 
reporter recalled spending two hours with Brennan before writing the 1984 
story, which included direct quotes from the investor. For the last story, he 
added, Brennan failed to return "at least half a dozen" phone calls from the 
reporter and the magazine's research staff.

  12 09 PM
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