Description Percentage of people who crack a smile while reading Harper's Index: 99. Harper's Magazine Foundation publishes Harper's Magazine, renowned for its fiction, essays, and reporting, as well as its Harper's Index, a statistical snapshot of the world's economic, political, and cultural climate. The magazine was established in 1850 by Harper & Brothers (now HarperCollins) and has had several changes in ownership. When former parent Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company (now The Star Tribune Company) announced in 1980 that Harper's Magazine would cease publication, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Atlantic Richfield Company formed the Harper's Magazine Foundation to run the magazine.