It’s that time of year when mutual funds dole out their capital gains for the year. So, let’s celebrate with a brief look back at the history of Fortune magazine!

The first issue of Fortune hit stands in February 1930, four months after the stock market crash of 1929.
A yearly subscription rate was $10. A single issue was one dollar.
To put this in perspective – an issue of the Sunday New York Times was 5 cents and a pound of hamburger meat was 13 cents. The average cost to rent a house for a month was $15!

Fortune was founded by Henry Booth Luce. Luce was also co-founder of another influential and important magazine – Time.
Fortune’s covers, full page ads, and photography are beautiful to look at. And, during the Great Depression they printed articles by socially conscience (dare I say progressive) writers including James Agee, Archibald MacLeish, and Alfred Kazin.