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The 2000s in America

Stewart, Martha

by Ellen Moser

Identification: American entrepreneur and television personality

Born: August 3, 1941; Jersey City, New Jersey

Martha Stewart’s many how-to books, website, and television shows teach cooking, homemaking, gardening, and decorating skills. Stewart also founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, a successful publishing and merchandising company. After being convicted on charges of insider trading in 2004 and serving time in prison in the mid-2000s, she rebuilt her media empire.

At the height of Martha Stewart’s highly successful career, America’s first self-made woman billionaire suddenly faced charges of insider trading. In December 2001, she sold 3,926 shares of her stock in ImClone, which had produced an anticancer drug that was not going to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While it appeared that Stewart was acting on illegal insider information, she claimed that her stockbroker had a standing order to sell her shares whenever the stock fell beneath a certain level.

In 2003, the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) questioned Stewart about her sale of ImClone stock. On June 4, 2003, she was indicted for misleading the investigators. A federal grand jury also charged her with securities fraud, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. That same day, Stewart resigned as CEO and chair of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

On February 27, 2004, US district judge Marian Cedarbaum decided that the securities fraud charge was “unfounded” and should be dropped. Stewart’s case soon went to trial in New York City; on March 5, she was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and two counts of false statements. On March 8, the CBS television network stopped airing Martha Stewart Living. Seven days later, Stewart resigned from the board of Omnimedia.

Stewart faced twenty years in prison; however, on July 17, Judge Cedarbaum decided on a lighter sentenced of five months in jail, five months of house arrest, and a fine of thirty thousand dollars. Stewart and her lawyers decided to appeal, but she told the public that she would serve her jail time as soon as possible.

On October 8, 2004, Stewart entered Alderson Federal Prison Camp, a low-security facility in West Virginia. Stewart was released on March 4, 2005, at which time she flew home to Bedford, New York, where she was placed under house arrest. After Stewart’s house arrest ended on August 31, 2005, she remained on probation until March 2007.

After her release from prison, Stewart began to rebuild her career. She rejoined her magazine and began hosting a new television show, called Martha. She also starred in the reality game show The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, which was cancelled after its first season.

In 2005, she published The Martha Rules, which gives readers advice about starting and running a business. She was also featured on her own satellite radio program and produced several new how-to videos. In 2010, Stewart’s longtime friend and associate Mariana Pasternak published a book entitled The Best of Friends: Martha and Me.

Martha Stewart

AUGHTS_StewartMartha.jpg

(Courtesy David Shankbone)

Impact

Martha Stewart is known for her business success, having created an empire that spreads across media, publishing, merchandising, and online commerce. In addition to writing best-selling books, she has created Martha Stewart Living, a successful magazine, and an internationally broadcasted talk show. She has received numerous awards, and in 2011, she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Further Reading

1 

Byron, Christopher. Martha Inc.: The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. New York: Wiley, 2002. Print.

2 

Stewart, Martha. The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Build, or Manage a Business. New York: Random, 2005. Print.

3 

Stoynoff, Natasha. Being Martha: The Inside Story of Martha Stewart and Her Amazing Life. Hoboken: Lloyd, 2006. Print.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Moser, Ellen. "Stewart, Martha." The 2000s in America, edited by Craig Belanger, Salem Press, 2013. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=2000_0355.
APA 7th
Moser, E. (2013). Stewart, Martha. In C. Belanger (Ed.), The 2000s in America. Salem Press.
CMOS 17th
Moser, Ellen. "Stewart, Martha." Edited by Craig Belanger. The 2000s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2013. Accessed September 18, 2025. online.salempress.com.