Martha Stewart is a well-known businesswoman, writer, and television personality. She has been in the business for more than 50 years where she produced numerous books, tv shows, and retail businesses. In this article, we will take a look at her career and Martha Stewart’s net worth in 2021.
| Net Worth | $400 million |
| Age | 80 |
| Salary | Undisclosed |
| Sponsors | Beyond Meat |
| Profession | Businesswoman / Writer / TV Personality |
Martha Stewart’s Net Worth in 2021 (estimate): $400 million
Martha Stewart’s net worth in 2021 is valued at $400 million. This is according to multiple reputable sources such as Celebrity Net Worth.
Stewart was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Edward Kostyra and Martha Ruszkowski who were both teachers, and her father later became a pharmaceutical salesman.
At the young age of 10 years old, Martha Stewart worked occasionally as a babysitter for the children of former New York Yankees players Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Gil McDougald.
She also began modelling at the age of 15 years old where she appeared in a television commercial for Unilever, as well as other appearances in magazines and tv advertisements.
Before being the famous businesswoman, cook, and lifestyle personality that she is today, Stewart first learned how to cook from his mother. She also learned the process of canning and preserving when she visited her grandparents’ home in Buffalo, New York.
As for her gardening skills, Stewart’s father had a passion for gardening and she passed on much of his expertise and knowledge to his daughter. Aside from that, she was also active in a lot of extracurricular activities such as the school newspaper and the Art Club.
After graduating from Nutley High School in Essex County, New Jersey, Stewart attended Barnard College of Columbia University where she initially planned to major in chemistry but instead chose to switch to art, history, and architectural history.
During her college years, she supported herself by way of modeling jobs that pay at $50/hour — which were a lot of money at that time. One of her clients included Chanel. During this time, she met Andrew Stewart who was studying Law at Yale Law School.
Andrew and Martha Stewart married in July 1961. After the marriage, she returned to Barnard to finish her studies and she graduated with a double major in history and architectural history.
In 1967, Martha Stewart started her career as a stockbroker, her father-in-law’s profession. She then moved with Andrew to Westport, Connecticut, where they purchased and restored an 1805 farmhouse on Turkey Hill Road. Stewart’s skill in restoring and decorating became apparent while doing this project.
In 1976, Stewart started a catering business with Norma Collier, her friend from her modeling days. Despite the success of the business, the relationship of the two became sour which led to Stewart buying out Collier’s part of the business. Aside from that, she was also hired as the manager of a gourmet food store, the Market Basket, but a disagreement with the owners forced her out of the business and she decided to open her own store.
Andrew Stewart became the president of Harry N. Abrams Inc., and he hired Martha’s company to cater a book release party. She was then introduced to the head of the Crown Publishing Group Alan Mirken.
Mirken was impressed with Stewart’s talent as a chef and hostess and he later enticed Stewart to develop a cookbook based on the recipes from the parties that she hosted. Her first book was titled “Entertaining” and was released on December 13, 1982 — ghostwritten by Elizabeth Hawes.
Due to the success of Entertaining, Martha Stewart released many more books under the Clarkson Potter publishing house. Aside from her books, she also wrote dozens of newspaper columns, magazine articles, and other pieces on homemaking. She had numerous television appearances on shows like The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live during this time.
In 1990, Stewart signed a deal with Time Publishing Ventures to produce a new magazine called “Martha Stewart Living”, where she served as the editor-in-chief. The circulation peaked in 2002 where it sold 2 million copies per issue.
In 1993, Stewart began a weekly half-hour television program based on her magazine Martha Stewart Living. The show then aired on weekdays in 1997 and later developed into a full-hour show in 1999. She also appeared in NBC’s Today Show and CBS’s The Early Show, as well as holiday specials on the CBS Network.
On the May 1995 cover of New York Magazine, Stewart was named the “definitive American woman of our time”.
In 1997, Martha Stewart, with the assistance of business partner Sharon Patrick, bought and consolidated all of the television, print, and merchandising related to the Martha Stewart brand and created a new company called Matha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO). She served as the president, chairwoman, and CEO of the company while Patrick became the Chief Operations Officer.
On October 19, 1999, the MSLO went public on the New York Stock Exchange with an initial public offering of $18 per share and went up to $38 by the end of trading — making Stewart the first female self-made billionaire in the United States.
Unfortunately, Martha Stewart was involved in a stock trading case that got her sent to a federation correctional facility for five months, five months of home confinement, and two years probation.
The case involves Stewart receiving nonpublic information that the stocks of ImClone Systems will dip, which led to Stewart selling all of her 3,298 shares allowing her to avoid a loss of $45,673. She was then indicted by the government on nine counts, including charges of security fraud and obstruction of justice.
After a highly-publicized six-week jury trial, Martha Stewart was found guilty of felony charges of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and making false statements to federal investigators. Her five-month sentence started on October 8, 2004, and she was released on March 4, 2005.
Many expected that her media empire would falter after her arrest, but Martha Stewart just picked up where she left off as she appeared in numerous television shows, published several books, and released multiple lines of housekeeping, decorating, and styling that carried her name.
On January 26, 2010, MLSO and the Hallmark Channel agreed on a multi-year strategic partnership deal wherein Martha Stewart’’s shows now premiered on the Hallmark Channel.
In 2016, Stewart and Snoop Dogg had a show in VH1 called Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party where they featured games, recipes, and musical guests.
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The pair also appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for T-Mobile during Super Bowl LI.
In February 2019, Martha Stewart joined Canadian marijuana company Canopy Growth as their adviser.
In a 2020 appearance by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on the TV show Finding Your Roots, it was revealed that he and Martha Stewart are cousins.
Due to her contributions throughout her career, Martha Stewart has received multiple recognition such as:
- 1995 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
- 1997 Edison Achievement Award
- Inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2018
- Inducted into the Licensing International Hall of Fame in 2020
Martha continues to grow her business and continues to provide ideas and tips through various articles on her website.
Nonetheless, were you at all stunned by Martha Stewart’s net worth in 2021?
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