On this day, August 3 in the year 1941, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was born in New Jersey, United States. Her name is Martha Helen Stewart, one of the top richest women in the entertainment industry. According to investopedia.com, her net worth was estimated at over $628 million as of 2019.
Martha was the second child of middle-class parents who descended from Polish immigrants. She has 5 siblings. She studied history at Barnard College in New York. As a child, she worked as babysitter for the children of some players of the New York Yankees. At 15, she started commercial modeling. At 20, she got married to a graduate of law who was the son of a stockbroker. After 6 years, she joined the stock brokerage business while her husband became a magazine publisher. Later, she set up a catering business and a gourmet food store.
In 1982, Martha published Entertaining, her first book. In the succeeding years, she published her other books on cooking and homemaking. In 1990, she became the editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Living, a magazine published by Time Publishing Ventures. Three years later, she began her TV appearances.
To consolidate all the brands associated with her, Martha established the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 1997. Thus, she was able to gain control of the TV, magazine, online, and merchandising aspects of the business. In 1999, the company went public.
Martha stepped down as CEO of her company in 2003 due to her conviction of insider trading related to the ImClone affair. She was barred for 5 years from serving as officer or director of any publicly-listed company. She was even denied a visa to travel to Great Britain.
In 2005, she was released from prison and started rebuilding her image. Prior to her imprisonment, her company was worth $2 billion but its value declined considerably after she was indicted and convicted.
In 2015, Martha sold the controlling stock of MSLO to Sequential Brands for $353 million. She remains the chief creative officer and has a seat in the board of directors.
Martha has a daughter with his former husband Andrew. The couple divorced in 1990.