Martha Stewart has spent more than five decades building a business empire, and the lifestyle mogul is now revealing the financial advice she has carried with her throughout her career.
At 85, the businesswoman has built a sprawling brand spanning media and merchandising, but she says much of what she knows about business came from experience rather than formal education.
The advice comes from a career that has included enormous deals, a public company, major setbacks, and a remarkable return to the business world as she continued finding ways to turn her ideas into valuable business opportunities.
Martha Stewart Says ‘Every Day Starts At Zero’
For Stewart, financial success does not appear to come from relying on yesterday’s achievements.
Speaking to PEOPLE at SoFi’s Smart Money Social Club, Stewart reflected on the advice she received while working on Wall Street and throughout her five decades as a businesswoman.
Although she said she received plenty of advice, both “wanted and unwanted,” one particular lesson has stayed with her.
“Every day starts at zero, and you have to go from there,” she said. “If you’re talking about money, talk about the end of the day and examine what you’ve done, what have you earned and what have you learned.”
The business mogul did not have the traditional business-school background that some of her peers had, instead majoring in architectural history at Barnard College and taking a six-month course at the New York Institute of Finance.
Stewart admitted that she “probably did poorly” in the finance course, but she did not allow that to stop her from learning about money and business.
“I’m a very good learner,” she explained, describing how she learned by watching people who were already experts at what they did.
Martha Stewart Revealed Her First Big Money Came From Kmart
Stewart’s financial philosophy becomes even more striking when placed alongside the deals that helped build her fortune.
As The Blast reported, the media mogul recently opened up about the Kmart partnership that she considers her “first big money.” The deal eventually became one of the most significant financial chapters of her career.
Stewart partnered with Kmart to create a line of affordable home goods, and the arrangement gave her a percentage of the sales of products she designed.
Stewart revealed that the business generated close to $2 billion in merchandise sales, and she was clearing approximately $65 million a year in royalties during the height of the partnership.
The money did more than simply increase Stewart’s personal earnings. She explained that the Kmart revenue helped fund the development of her magazine and the wider business she was building.
Martha Stewart Turned A Major Setback Into A Full-Circle Moment
Stewart’s financial journey has not been without major setbacks. The businesswoman recently returned to the New York Stock Exchange more than two decades after her highly publicized legal troubles forced her to resign from the board of her company.
Her return came years after she was indicted in 2003 and convicted in 2004 of felony charges connected to the ImClone Systems insider-trading case, per The Blast.
The moment carried particular significance because Stewart had taken her company public at the NYSE in 1999. She returned to the exchange in February 2026 to ring the closing bell alongside Scotts Miracle-Gro CFO Mark Scheiwer as the company celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The legal scandal had a major impact on Stewart’s business and public image. Yet decades later, she was back at the same institution where she had once celebrated one of the biggest milestones of her career.
The Businesswoman Continues To Expand Her Empire
The lifestyle icon’s ability to keep finding new opportunities has remained evident in her more recent projects.
Stewart recently made her “The Real Housewives of New York City” debut, adding another television appearance to an already lengthy career in media.
Her cameo also gave viewers another glimpse of the personality behind the Martha Stewart brand as she teased about releasing her nudes, which quickly drew funny responses from fellow celebrities and major media brands.
The 85-year-old continued to expand her presence across different forms of entertainment as she remained active across traditional media, social platforms, television, and brand partnerships.
The Lifestyle Expert Is Still Creatively Winning With Her Campaigns
Stewart has also demonstrated that she understands the value of attention, particularly when it can be connected to a brand after a striking major campaign.
The lifestyle queen revealed that she may have drawn inspiration from Kim Basinger’s performance in the 1986 film “9½ Weeks” when developing the concept for her viral MAC Cosmetics campaign. It featured Stewart in her kitchen tasting strawberries and honey while promoting the makeup.
When asked whether the provocative concept had been her idea, the lifestyle guru gave a straightforward response: “Of course!”
She also explained that while she has people who assist with her social media presence, much of what appears on her personal Instagram reflects her own ideas.
