Forbes Unveils Cookies Co-Founder and CEO Berner as First Cannabis Executive Featured on Its Iconic Cover

Major Cannabis Milestone Takes In-Depth Exploration of Legal Cannabis’ Challenges and Successes

Forbes’ recent magazine covers have featured notable leaders and trailblazers including Vice President Kamala Harris, Spotify CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek, and brothers John and Patrick Collison, the co-founders of Stripe. And now, for the first time since the magazine launched in 1917, a cannabis executive will grace the cover of Forbes.

Cookies Co-Founder and CEO Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr., also known as Berner, is featured on the August / September 2022 issue of Forbes. The editorial decision to spotlight the 38-year-old rapper and cannabis entrepreneur by one of the world’s most respected business publications represents yet another powerful milestone for the $72 billion cannabis industry.

“It’s every entrepreneur’s dream to make the cover of Forbes, but the reality is very few founders and CEOs of the largest companies in the world will actually get a chance to achieve that goal,” said Berner. “I’ve been in the legal cannabis industry for 20 years and have dedicated most of my life to this fight. To be selected as one of the faces for federal legalization in our country is a huge compliment to my work. I’m extremely humbled, excited and motivated to keep pushing the cannabis industry forward and to continue representing minorities in the space. This is just the beginning for Cookies and I want to thank Forbes for helping us share our story.”

The significant editorial marker follows AdAge naming Cookies one of the “Hottest Brands of 2021,” the first time the advertising industry’s top-tier publication honored a cannabis business with the annual accolade.

Forbes staff writer Will Yakowicz, one of the most seasoned and accomplished reporters covering the complex and dynamic cannabis industry, said his story takes a closer look at the industry’s regulatory and commercial landscape, and illuminates Cookies as a successful brand navigating the often challenging environment.

"This story is about how the federal government continues to botch opportunities to legalize the cannabis industry and lift a $72 billion economy out of the shadows,” said Yakowicz. “In a decade, Berner has built Cookies into the buzziest global brand in cannabis—despite massive overregulation and overtaxation.”

The August / September issue of the magazine will be available on newsstands on Aug. 16. To read the full story, visit: https://bit.ly/3buLdvX

About Cookies

Cookies, founded in 2010 by Billboard-charting rapper and entrepreneur Berner and Bay Area breeder and cultivator Jai, is the most globally recognized cannabis company in the world. Cookies values the power of the plant and focuses on creating game-changing genetics. The company offers a collection of over 70 proprietary cannabis cultivars and more than 2,000 products. Cookies also actively works to enrich communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs through advocacy and social equity initiatives. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company opened its first retail store in 2018 in Los Angeles, and has since expanded to over 50 retail locations in 17 markets across 5 countries. Cookies was named one of America’s Hottest Brands of 2021 by AdAge; the first cannabis brand to ever receive this accolade. To learn more about Cookies, visit cookies.co, and to learn more about Cookies CBD, visit https://shop.cookies.co/.

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