Martha Stewart

This woman turned her catering side hustle into a $400M business.

At 19, Martha Stewart was modeling to help pay her way through Barnard College.

By 35, she had transitioned from Wall Street to launching a catering business out of her basement.

Fast forward to today, and Martha is one of the most iconic entrepreneurs in lifestyle, publishing, and media.

With a net worth of over $400M.

Starting as a stockbroker, Martha eventually pivoted to what she loved: cooking, decorating, and entertaining.

Her first book, Entertaining (1982), sold over 625k copies.

By 1990, Martha Stewart Living magazine had a subscriber base of 250k and amassed over 2M subscribers at its peak.

Her empire expanded further with a syndicated television show, best-selling cookbooks, branded merchandise, and exclusive partnerships with Kmart and Macy’s.

Her brand, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, went public in 1999, making her the first self-made female billionaire in the U.S. on paper.

Even legal challenges and a prison sentence in 2004 couldn’t derail her empire.

Martha staged a comeback, launched new products, and expanded into TV, home goods, and even CBD.