The founder of a analysis firm that does enterprise with Forbes has apologized for giving a cool $6 million to the publication’s former prime editor, who was fired over the fee last month.

Forbes axed Chief Content Officer Randall Lane after it discovered he took the money from RJ Shook of Shook Research, with the journo claiming at the time that the fee was a “gift” from a pal, the New York Times reported earlier this month.

Randall Lane (above), Forbes’ former chief content material officer. Getty Images

Now Shook is saying the fee was made “in recognition of the services and guidance” that Lane offered, including serving to Shook promote the analysis firm to a private-equity agency last 12 months..

“My actions were taken with the best intentions, but ultimately the payment was a mistake,” Shook instructed the Times on Monday. “I deeply regret that this has raised questions about the integrity and independence of Shook’s rankings.”

Shook’s account appeared to differ from the rationalization provided by Lane, who beforehand said: “I should have disclosed the gift, and failing to was a serious error in judgment.”

Shook Research shares rankings of monetary advisers with Forbes, and the information is sometimes used for the outlet’s clickbait-esque “best of” lists.  

A spokesperson for Forbes instructed The Post that the fee was “unacceptable and is consistent with our policies and principles of trust, transparency and disclosure.”

Lane was instantly fired and the firm is “exploring all appropriate actions to hold Mr. Lane to full account,” the spokesperson added.

Forbes – which laid off dozens of contributors in December – is working with outside counsel to interact in an impartial evaluation of the scandal, and so far has not discovered proof that the integrity of its rankings was compromised, according to the spokesperson.

Lane and Shook “maintained a close connection” after they met in 2011, Shook said. The pair hit it off on a 2013 “humanitarian trip” to Liberia that was organized by Forbes, according to the Times. 

“He provided professional advice and guidance to me,” Shook said. “In 2016, Randall helped to facilitate the partnership between Forbes Media and Shook Research. Later, he provided assistance in connection with my efforts to sell the company.”

Shook said he paid Lane after he bought a controlling stake in his analysis agency to PPC Enterprises last 12 months.

RJ Shook (above), founder of Shook Research. LinkedIn

PPC Enterprises said it found and flagged the huge fee after the acquisition, when it began reviewing Shook Research emails.

In a assertion earlier this month, Lane said: “I made a mistake, and I take responsibility for it.”

“I deeply regret that, and I lost the job and team I love because of it. None of this changes how I feel about Forbes and the amazing people there,” he added.

Shook Research instructed The Post that it would take steps to “further strengthen and demonstrate the independence of its rankings,” including commissioning an impartial governance evaluation, creating a new “independence charter” and striving for higher transparency.

Forbes last month fired Randall Lane after it discovered of the $6 million fee. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The agency also said it is carrying out a re-brand, which it began in February.

“Shook Research remains focused on providing advisers, their clients and the wealth management profession with a trusted measure of excellence,” the eggheads said, including that Lane was not concerned in its rankings course of.

Lane labored at Forbes for 15 years and oversaw some of its best-known lists, like its “30 Under 30” rankings. He also labored on the National Thoroughbred League, a aggressive horseracing group, and “The Sound of America,” a rock musical about Benjamin Franklin that premiered in Philadelphia.

His beautiful seven-figure fee has despatched shockwaves through the business, elevating questions about the integrity of Forbes’ “best of” lists.

The monetary advisers who made it on the “best of” rankings could buy plaques and logos to promote their spot on the record, making it a profitable partnership for Forbes and Shook Research. 

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management instructed staff in a memo that it would droop its participation in Shook’s business rankings, spooked by the scandalous fee, according to the Times.

Lane could not instantly be reached.