Martha Stewart

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. 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 crème brulees 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. She plans to appeal. 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. In early August 2006 Stewart agreed to pay $195,000 in settlement of an SEC complaint accusing her of insider trading. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum