How She Continues To Grow Her Businesses

Entrepreneur, author, lifestyle expert, and TV personality Martha Stewart has made a fortune through her media empire and becoming a household name for more than four decades. Stewart was the first self-made female billionaire in the U.S.

Though she is no longer a billionaire, Stewart continues to expand her empire through books, TV shows, and lucrative brand partnerships with products from home goods and decor to kitchenware, and more. Stewart had an estimated net worth of $400 million as of June 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

At 83, the lifestyle legend is still making money moves as a TV star, podcast host, Sports Illustrated cover star, releasing her 100th book, and creating content on TikTok. Here’s how Martha Stewart made her millions.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

The bulk of Stewart’s net worth was arose from her stake in her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. The media company was home to all of Stewart’s projects, including TV shows, books, magazines, and merchandise. Stewart took Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) public in 1999, three years after the company’s launch, and became the first self-made female billionaire in the U.S. when the stock’s price soared after its initial public offering (IPO).

Stewart stepped down as the chair and CEO of MSLO in 2003, when she was indicted and later convicted of obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and making false statements when she sold shares of ImClone Systems in 2001. Stewart was fined $30,000 and served five months in prison in October 2004 and five months under house arrest at her home in Bedford, New York.

The media mogul was briefly a billionaire for a second time, when shares of MSLO soared 90% while she was in prison, according to Forbes. However, her net worth went down to $550 million after release from prison, when the company’s stock dropped 40%, per Forbes.

Following her release from prison, Stewart rejoined MSLO as the chief editorial, media, and content officer and eventually became the company’s non-executive board chair. In 2015, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was acquired by Sequential Brands for $353 million, according to Forbes. Stewart stayed on as chief creative officer with a “significant” stake in the company.

In 2019, the Martha Stewart brand was acquired by Marquee Brands LLC for $215 million, according to New York Post. The lifestyle icon joined Marquee Brands and remains a part of its senior leadership team, and told Life Stories that she still has a “very vast” ownership in her company in 2023.

Prior to starting her catering business and launching her lifestyle and media empire, Stewart was a stockbroker in New York.

TV

Stewart is also an Emmy award-winning TV personality who has hosted many lifestyle and cooking shows over the years including “The Martha Stewart Show,” “Martha Stewart Living,” “Martha Bakes,” and more. The TV star was reportedly paid $1 million for her 2016 VH1 special, “Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party,” according to New York Post. The lifestyle expert’s friendship with rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg was a pop culture hit, leading to other TV show spinoffs such as “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Party Challenge” and “Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween.”

Stewart starred in a Netflix documentary offering a candid look at her life and career called “Martha,” which premiered on the streaming platform in October 2024.

Books and Magazines

Before she was an award-winning TV host and millionaire entrepreneur, Stewart’s first step to fame was when she published her first book, “Entertaining,” in 1982. The rest is history—Stewart published a host of best-selling cookbooks and lifestyle guides, and just released her 100th book, “Martha: The Cookbook” in November 2024. The lifestyle icon is also working on an autobiography, which is expected to publish in 2026.

Stewart’s Martha Stewart Living magazine (to which she acquired the rights from Time Warner in 1997 with an $85 million loan), grew to more than 2 million subscribers. Today, Martha Stewart Living is a fully digital brand published by Dotdash Meredith, which also publishes Investopedia, and operates as MarthaStewart.com.

Brand Partnerships

Over her decades-long career, Stewart has partnered with countless brands and has launched a number of collections, ranging from home decor and kitchenware to frozen food, apparel, shoes, beauty products, and more. She even partnered with home construction company KB Home (KBH) and designed houses modeled after her own.

Stewart’s various products bring in an estimated $900 million a year, and reach more than 100 million consumers a month across her platforms, according to Forbes in a 2021 article. Her food brand, Martha Stewart Kitchen, is projected to reach between $500 million to $1 billion in retail sales by 2025, per Forbes.

Stewart has gotten into the cannabis industry, too. The TV star has a line of CBD products with Wanderous by Wana. Stewart also has a brand of handbags called “Best Buds Bags” with her longtime friend and business partner, Snoop Dogg. The line is in partnership with BIC EZ Reach lighters. Martha and Snoop also have partnered with several brands and appeared in commercials together, including for Tostitos, Skechers shoes, and BIC EZ Reach lighters.

Previously, Stewart had a homeware collection with retailer Kmart, which ended in 2009. Stewart has also launched collections with Macy’s (M), with Martha Stewart Collection cookware and some home goods still available for purchase on the store’s website.