Forbes touted SVB on 2023 Best Banks list before collapse

March 14, 2023

The Forbes magazine jinx reared up again as the financial publication raved about Silicon Valley Bank just days before the lender imploded.

Forbes — which has celebrated a host of public figures such as Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, Adam Neumann of WeWork and Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX before they suffered public downfalls — named SVB to its America’s Best Banks list last Monday.

Five days later, the tech-focused bank was shut down by the over liquidity fears.

Before SVB’s sudden collapse, the bank celebrated making the Forbes list with a tweet to its 44,000 followers.

“Proud to be on @Forbes’ annual ranking of America’s Best Banks for the 5th straight year and to have also been named to the publication’s inaugural Financial All-Stars list,” SVB tweeted last Monday.

But by this past Monday, the bank deleted its Twitter account and its website was taken down as US officials put in place a rescue plan to stave off a possible panic.

SVB's tweet about being named one of this year's best banks by Forbes. — Silicon Valley Bank’s tweet — which has since been deleted — celebrated its place on the Forbes list.

Forbes ended up taking SVB off the list and added an editorial note.

“After this list was published on February 16, 2023, SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and was placed under FDIC control on March 10 due to a bank run prompted by fears about its interest rate exposure,” the note read.

Follow The Post’s coverage of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse

In the last decade, Forbes’ prestigious lists have been mocked for promoting people and businesses that have fallen from grace.

In October 2021, Bankman-Fried nabbed the cover of the glossy as a member of the 40th annual Forbes 400 list, which features the 400 richest Americans.

Front entrance of the Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, Calif. — The Silicon Valley Bank was named one of America’s best banks in 2023 by Forbes.

The story accompanying the list described Bankman-Fried as somebody who was trying to rake in as much money as possible so he could put it to philanthropic use.

“He is an ‘effective altruist’, which is sort of a Silicon Valley slant on philanthropy that relies on reason and data to do the most good in the world,” the story said.

Last year, his crypto-currency exchange collapsed amid a surge in attempts to withdraw funds due to lack of liquidity.

Bankman, 31, was extradited from the Bahamas, where he had headquartered FTX, to face criminal charges in a Manhattan court. He has been released on bail and is awaiting a fraud trial on October 2.

headquarters of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in Santa Clara, California, USA, 13 March 2023. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of the bank's assets, making it the largest bank to do so since the 2008 finical crisis.
Silicon Valley Bank headquarters after US Government takes over, Santa Clara, USA - 13 Mar 2023
Silicon Valley Bank headquarters after US Government takes over, Santa Clara, USA - 13 Mar 2023 — The Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday, just days before being regalled by Forbes.

Meanwhile, Neuman, the co-founder of WeWork, was celebrated as one of the most eligible young business leaders, appearing on an October 2017 cover.

Neuman made huge, unsustainable bets on the expansion of WeWork and then a failed IPO in 2019. He was ousted as the company’s CEO in 2019.

Theranos’ Holmes also got the star treatment in 2015 when she landed the magazine’s September cover.

Holmes was the founder of Theranos, a Silcon Valley startup claiming to revolutionize blood-testing. But Theranos came under scrutiny after a damning Wall Street Journal investigation in 2015 uncovered the company’s faulty technology.

Last November, she was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for wire fraud and defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.