Lifestyle

Examining Martha Stewart’s Net Worth, Controversies and Celebrity Friendships

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Nov 28, 2024 / 982 Views

Evan Walker

Martha Stewart is arguably one of the most prominent homemaking and cooking personalities. She has donned many hats from being a TV personality to a billion-dollar businesswoman. Stewart’s rise to fame has been noteworthy, to say the least. With the release of her Netflix documentary —Martha, fans have now received some fresh insights into her life including her career and personal relationships. From being deemed America’s first female self-made billionaire to earning the tag of the “OG influencer”, here’s everything you need to know about Martha Stewart including her net worth, controversies and more.

In Martha, a calm and collected Stewart speaks about her multifaceted personality as she recalls her diverse transitions from being a model to a brief stint in stock broking to eventually finding footing as a homemaking genius. The lavish parties and events hosted by her, tumultuous relationships and above all her legal troubles that landed her a five-month prison sentence receive a spotlight.

Having built an empire surrounding home decor, venturing into the media sector with her own magazine, television shows, and a line of cookbooks, check out the impressive way Martha Stewart spends her lavish fortune.

Early career and family background

Martha Stewart may be a household name today but the Celebrity chef and socialite hails from a humble background. Her parents were Polish immigrants who ran a local tavern and raised Stewart and her five siblings. Martha began working at an early age and first took up modelling jobs to provide financial help for her family. Earning sums of over USD 50 for an hour of shoot, Stewart worked with some big clients from the likes of Unilever to even luxury brands like Chanel. However, after her graduation, she eyed another profession and showcased her skills in stock broking by taking a job on Wall Street. During this stint in the 70s, Martha first gained interest in expanding her entrepreneurial pursuits and turned to catering as a Business.

After hosting parties for some of the most influential people, a chance meeting with Alan Mirken, the head of Crown Publishing Group, changed the course of Stewart’s career when he encouraged her to write a cookbook featuring recipes from her catering events. Inspired by this, Martha then published her first book — Entertaining in 1982. Following her massively successful debut, Stewart continued to publish books and has over 100 credits to her name.

Martha Stewart’s media empire

When you think of Martha Stewart, not many would attach the term media baron to her name but it wouldn’t be wrong to do so. Much of the massive net worth accumulated by her can be credited to her media company — Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She first entered the world of media in 1990 with the first issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine which was published in partnership with Time Publishing Ventures. Given the successful run enjoyed by her magazine, the homemaking genius saw potential in owning the brand as a part of a media empire.

In 1996, Stewart founded Martha Stewart Omnimedia and three years on, she took the company public with its stocks priced at USD 18. Considering her strong iNFLuence in the market, unsurprisingly the stock prices tripled on the same day that the company went public, thus making Martha the first self-made female billionaire in the United States as per Forbes.

Her stock broking scandal and prison sentence

The massive success of Martha Stewart Omnimedia came crashing down in 2002 when the Celebrity chef landed in a legal soup. After being accused of indulging in securities fraud, Stewart was sentenced to a five-month prison term under three felony charges. She served time in prison from October 8, 2004, to March 4, 2005, for promptly selling shares before an upcoming drop in ImClone Systems stock, avoiding a significant financial loss. It was her broker Peter Bacanovic who shared nonpublic information with her about the upcoming stock drop.

Her indictment in the stock broking case led to a huge drop in the valuation of Omnimedia. According to Forbes, Martha Stewart’s net worth halved to USD 550 million from her billionaire status following her release from prison.

Martha Stewart’s past relationships and unlikely friendships

Martha Stewart is currently single but her relationship history includes some famous names. Stewart’s first and only marriage took place in 1961 when she tied the knot with her then-boyfriend of one year — Andrew Stewart. The couple also welcomed a daughter, Alexis Stewart in 1965. While the duo were married for over 30 years, it wasn’t a smooth sailing ride. The homemaking legend spills the tea about what led to the breakdown of this marriage in her new Netflix documentary including excerpts from very personal letters she wrote to him during a particularly rocky patch. In the documentary, Martha not only opens up about her ex-husband’s cheating scandals but also reveals her own dalliance with “a very attractive Irish man.” The couple eventually divorced in 1993.

Besides her marriage to Andrew Stewart, one of Martha’s longest relationships has been with billionaire Microsoft Office creator, Charles Simonyi. The two were together for 15 years before splitting up in 2008.

Over the years, Martha hasn’t been coy about her past romances and even admitted to having dated Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins during the 1990s. She spoke about her brief relationship with the actor on The Ellen DeGeneres show and stated that it wasn’t a success because she could not get over his impactful performance in Silence of the Lambs in which he famously played the dreaded character of Hannibal Lecter. Besides the famous Hollywood star, she was also linked to Mort Zuckerman, the former CEO of U.S. News & World Report.

Apart from her high-profile relationships, Martha Stewart has also built some unlikely friendships in the showbiz world. She is known to be among the closest friends of rapper Snoop Dogg. The duo first hit it off after meeting each other at the Comedy Central roast of Justin Bieber and have been friends ever since. From collaborating on a cooking show together to their recent hang-out session at the Paris Olympics, Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg share a bond that is beyond adorable. Similarly, she also shares a sweet bond with comedian Pete Davidson whom she once referred to as “the son [she] never had.”

While Stewart enjoys the comic timing of her friends Snoop Dogg and Pete Davidson, it seems she doesn’t feel the same about her neighbour Ryan Reynolds. Recently, the cookbook author appeared to admit on a game show “he’s not so funny in real life.” She explained her comment saying, “He can act funny, but he isn’t funny. Maybe he can get to be funny again.” In response to her opinion about him, Ryan wrote on X, “I’d disagree with her. But I tried that once. The woman is unexpectedly spry.”

Another celebrity friendship of Stewart that recently drew attention is that of P. Diddy. A blog post written by her resurfaced online amid Diddy’s ongoing sex trafficking case. In the post, Stewart wrote about attending “the party of the century.” The celebration she referred to was the 40th birthday party of the rapper, held at the Grand Ballroom at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Photos in the blog post showcase Martha posing alongside Diddy as well as some other guests from the party including disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

What is the net worth of Martha Stewart?

She may not be a billionaire anymore but Martha Stewart still boasts of a massive fortune and her net worth is currently estimated to be approximately USD 400 million. Following her prison sentence, in 2015 Stewart sold her company Omnimedia for USD 215 million to Marquee Brands, as per Forbes, adding a big sum to her fortune. According to the New York Post, Martha received a salary reported to be more than USD 6 million from the company.

Besides Omnimedia, she also earned from various brand deals and partnerships with department stores like Kmart, Home Depot, Sears, and more. According to Forbes, in 2021, Stewart’s brands generated upwards of USD 900 million in retail sales.

Additionally, Martha Stewart also earns from her restaurant — The Bedford, at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The millionaire has luxurious tastes and her stellar real-estate portfolio is proof of that. A glimpse of her gorgeous 156-acre farm in Bedford, New York is seen in her new Netflix documentary. The beautiful estate is also her primary residence and was reportedly bought at a whopping price of USD 15 million in 2000. Besides this stunning property, Stewart previously also owned a home in East Hamptons which she sold for USD 16.5 million in 2021.

Another key property in Stewart’s real estate portfolio is her recent purchase, a six-bedroom unit in The Belnord on New York City’s Upper West Side. Why is it special? It’s the titular building in Hulu’s hit comedy mystery Only Murders in the Building. While it is unclear if Stewart is a fan of the show, it would certainly be cool to see her make a guest appearance on the show. According to Architectural Digest, Martha shelled out USD 12.3 million for the 4,600-square-foot apartment.

(Main and featured images: Facebook/Martha Stewart)