Stewart Martha

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 NBCs "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 didnt 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 companys 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 companys 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 Read less