Mike Forsythe
Mike Forsythe is an investigative reporter for The New York Times, where he focuses on China and the intersection of Chinese finance, politics, and global influence. Since joining the Times in 2014, he has published a series of deeply reported investigations examining the concentration of wealth and power in China and how it shapes global markets and institutions. Forsythe is the co-author of When McKinsey Comes to Town, written with fellow New York Times investigative journalist Walt Bogdanich. The book examines the global consulting industry and its influence across governments, corporations, and international power structures. His reporting is widely recognized for its depth, rigor, and impact on public understanding of elite networks and financial systems. Before joining The New York Times, Forsythe spent 13 years at Bloomberg News, serving as a reporter and editor based in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Washington, D.C. Earlier in his career, he served as an officer in the United States Navy, completing two shipboard deployments to the Persian Gulf.
Mike Forsythe Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Investigative Reporter
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Investigative Reporter and Editor
Academic History
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M.A., Regional Studies East Asia
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B.S.F.S., International Economics
THE NEW YORK TIMES
At The New York Times, Forsythe has focused extensively on China’s political economy and the global implications of its rapid accumulation of wealth.
After relocating from Hong Kong to New York in 2017, he expanded his coverage to include major international consulting firms, particularly McKinsey & Company, and their role in shaping government and corporate decision-making.
His reporting has also examined the financial influence of Russian oligarchs, as well as emerging areas such as the cryptocurrency industry and the global art market, continuing his focus on how money, power, and opacity intersect across borders.
BLOOMBERG
While at Bloomberg News, Mike Forsythe played a central role in some of the most consequential investigative journalism of the past decade.
In 2012, as part of Bloomberg’s Beijing bureau, he was the lead writer on an investigation detailing the wealth of relatives of Xi Jinping, then China’s incoming top leader.
That article anchored a broader series examining the fortunes of elite families within China’s Communist Party.
The series received some of journalism’s highest honors, including the George Polk Award and the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Asian Journalism.
Forsythe was also part of the Bloomberg team that won the 2013 George Polk Award for its coverage of elite political wealth in China.
In addition to China-focused reporting, Forsythe covered campaign finance and lobbying, the role of hedge funds in U.S. politics, and a wide range of industries including banking, automotive, aviation, technology, and macroeconomics.
He departed Bloomberg during a period of internal controversy related to reporting in China.
RECOGNITIONS
2022 Overseas Press Club Award, International Environmental Reporting
2019 Overseas Press Club Award, International Business Reporting
2013 Osborn Elliott Award
2013 Overseas Press Club Award, International Investigative Reporting
2013 George Polk Award
2013 SABEW Award