Biography
American entrepreneur whose "Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia"
reportedly made up to $25 million in profits in 1997 on revenues of $120
million. She is the editor of "Martha Stewart Living" magazine
with a circulation of 1.3 million, appears on a syndicated TV show seen by
five million a week and appears regularly on NBC's "Today" show.
Her products include 14 books, six videos, signature sheets, towels and
paints. She has permeated practically every cranny of the American market,
celebrating the lost art of housekeeping. When Time Inc., which published
her magazine, refused to produce her home catalog, she bought the magazine
for a reported $75 million. And when Stewart was told by town officials in
Westport, CT that she could no longer tape her TV show from her home in
the city, she leased a site nearby to create a studio space.
Stewart is a can-do-anything and everything go-getter, always on the
move. An insomniac, she sleeps some four hours a night, and the jokes go
that she plants the garden before breakfast, paints the house before lunch
and reorganizes Microsoft by dinnertime.
The second of six kids, she was raised by a super-competent and
critical father whose pattern she apparently adopted.
In 1960 she met Andy Stewart, 23, a Yale law student and they married
the following year; one child (Alexis). They bought and renovated an old
Westport farmhouse in 1973, and in 1975 Martha opened a cooperative where
local women could sell their baked goods. She started a catering business
and in no time at all was whipping up créme brulées for the like of
Robert Redford and her Westport neighbors. The Stewart empire had begun.
To her dismay, Andy moved out in 1987 and they divorced in 1990. The
separation was not amicable and Andy got a court order to keep Martha
away. A non-stop compulsive achiever, known for a tendency to run over
people, she was said to have put Andy down often. A high profile
celebrity, she was the subject of the biography "Just Deserts,"
in which she was made out to be a shrew. It didn't put a dent into the
Stewart Empire.
In early 2000, the New York Tax Court imposed a tab of $221,677 back
taxes for 1991 and 1992 because she claimed residency in Connecticut while
living in East Hampton, NY.
Her finances were again suspect in early 2002 when she was questioned
about the possibility of insider trading. She sold some 4,000 shares of
ImClone on 12/27/2001 for $227,824 on the day before the company's stock
fell. Martha claimed that she had an agreement with her broker to sell if
the stock fell below $60, in spite of her close relationship with the
company's chief executive. Her stock trade scandal broke on 6/06/2002 with
repercussions that escalated. The investigation damaged her biggest asset
- her image - while charges of making false statements to Congress could
actually land her in jail.
On June 4, 2003, media and home fashion executive, Martha Stewart
resigned from her position as chairwoman and chief executive of Martha
Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. after she was charged with nine counts of
conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements, perjury, and
securities fraud. Martha has pleaded not guilty. She will remain on the
board of directors and will continue to serve as chief creative officer of
her company. The indictment stems from her sale of ImClone Systems, Inc.
stock on December 27, 2001, the day before an announcement that negatively
affected ImClone’s stock price hit Wall Street.
Her trial began with jury selection on January 26, 2004 in New York
City and opening statements began at about 10 AM the following day.
Stewart, 62, is charged with obstructing justice and conspiracy stemming
from her sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems stock in 2001.
On March 5, 2004 Martha Stewart was found guilty on 4 counts: one count
of conspiracy; two counts of making false statements; and one count of
obstruction of justice. She intends to appeal. Sentencing was scheduled
for June 17, 2004. On March 15, 2004, she announced that she is resigning
her seat on the Board of Directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia,
Inc. and is giving up her position as Chief Creative Officer. Instead she
will take the title of founding editorial director. Stewart had previously
resigned as Chairman of the Board in June 2003. She retains ownership of
61 percent of the company.
On July 16, 2004, at a federal courthouse in Manhattan, NY, Stewart
received her sentence of five months in prison for lying to federal
investigators over her sale of ImClone stock. In addition to the prison
term, she must spend five months under house arrest and two years of
supervised probation, and she must pay a fine of $30,000. She promised her
supporters, "I’ll be back. I will be back." Stewart will remain free on
bail until her appeal is completed or abandoned.
On September 15, 2004, Martha Stewart announced that she intends to
begin her jail sentence in order to end the nightmare of uncertainty while
her appeal proceeds. She declared: "I must reclaim my good life. I must
return to my good works and allow those around me who work with me to do
the same." The judge ordered her to report to jail by October 8, 2004, and
she chose the darkness of the morning on that day to do so. At
approximately 6:15 AM that day, she reported to the Federal Prison Camp,
Alderson, West Virginia to serve out her five-month sentence. Upon her
release, she will be subject to house arrest for another five-month
period.
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