William Randolph Hearst's enthusiasm over the motor car lead to the founding of Motor, the first Hearst magazine. Always alert to ways to expand his influence in the world of publishing, Hearst had been considering entering the magazine field for some time before launching Motor in 1903. Cosmopolitan, Motor Boating and nearly twenty more magazines would be established, purchased, merged into new publications or killed during Hearst's lifetime.

The magazines featured cover art by Harrison Fisher and Henry Clive, stories written by authors such as Jack London, and articles contributed by the likes of Winston Churchill.

• Motor, 1903, founded
• Cosmopolitan, 1905, purchased
• Motor Boating, 1907, purchased
• World Today, 1911, purchased; renamed (1) Hearst's Magazine (2)Hearst's International
• Good Housekeeping, 1911, purchased
• Harper's Bazaar, 1912, purchased
• Puck, 1917, purchased; killed 1918
• Town and Country, 1925, purchased
• Hearst's International, 1925, merged with Cosmopolitan
• American Druggist, 1927, purchased
• American Architect, 1929, purchased
• Home and Field, 1929, purchased, merged with House Beautiful after 1933
• House Beautiful, 1933, purchased
• Pictorial Review 1935, purchased; killed 1939 (the largest kill in magazine publishing history at the time)

• Nash's Magazine, purchased 1910
• Pall Mall, purchased 1914; merged with Nash's Magazine to form Nash's Pall Mall
• Vanity Fair, purchased c. 1918
• Good Housekeeping, established 1922
• Harper's Bazaar, established 1929
• Cosmopolitan, date unknown
• Connoisseur, purchased 1927

The International Magazine Company was formed in 1905. William Randolph Hearst was president of the company until 1926 when Ray Long took over. Long, the editor of Cosmopolitan, was one of the most famous men in magazine journalism when he became editor-in-chief of all Hearst magazines, a role he played until 1931. His resignation that year raised eyebrows throughout the publishing world, and was generally known to be in protest over the increasing power of Richard Berlin, a former ad salesman for Motor who rose to the top in the Hearst Corporation in record time.