Behar was born to a Jewish family in Manhattan and raised on Long Island. He is a 1982 graduate of New York University. Before joining "Time" in 1989, he was a reporter and associate editor for "Forbes" magazine for six years. He has also worked at "The New York Times" as a researcher and writer. Behar reported extensively about organized crime and the business backgrounds of politicians for "Time", for whom Behar wrote a 1993 cover story on the World Trade Center bombing.