Martha Stewart Reveals How She Rakes in $65 Million in Royalties

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Martha Stewart is a household name across the globe, and she certainly makes the figures to back it up. The food television icon recently revealed that she has previously earned a whopping $65 million in royalties in a single year, matter of factually adding that she know it is “a lot of money”.

Chatting on the ‘Other People’s Business‘ podcast yesterday, the star revealed exactly how she did it as well as how much hard work she had to put in to get there.

What Did Martha Share?

Martha began by sharing where her financial success began – with a deal she made back in the 1990s, which saw the launch of her brand Martha Stewart Everyday with Kmart.

She said: “Kmart was my first big money, and it was a lot of money. I was clearing $65 million a year in royalties. Because we were selling close to $2 billion worth of merchandise. That’s a lot of money. And that was funding my whole development of my magazine and the whole business. I mean, that was an amazing thing. So, see how nice that is?”

Before closing that deal, Martha was still managing to make over a million dollars through a catering business she was running. Though she described the work as taking a lot on her physically. She shared: “Before that I was grossing a little bit more than a million dollars in a catering business at which I was k*****g myself physically. And I had a big staff to pay and everything else. But that was still a big beginner business.”

Martha’s Wisdom For People Today

For those looking to boost their own business success and royalties, Martha has imparted some important wisdom. Though sadly it begins by noting that it’s important to acknowledge that royalties today really aren’t the same as they used to be.

The star noted: “It’s harder to do that nowadays [land huge deals like her one with Kmart] because first of all, the royalties aren’t the same. Now it’s three percent of wholesale and, you know, it gets lesser and lesser. Companies are paying such small royalties.”

Martha also noted how nowadays in the age of social media, entrepreneurs and public figures are often paid in merchandise instead of money. She used the example of: “I get asked to go to a fashion show and I then get $40,000 worth of clothes. That’s a lot of money, $40,000, to dress me to go to the fashion show. Just to show up.” Though the star cheekily added that she “loves” that kind of gig.

Martha has worked in many different industries over the years. As a teen young Martha actually worked as a model for huge brands including Chanel and Clairol. She then went on to become a stockbroker from 1961 to 1973. From there Martha then got into catering, starting a gourmet home-based catering business which went on to get her into earning seven figure sums.

Her career only blossomed from there, turning into book deals, the launch of “Martha Stewart Living” magazine and her much-loved television show “The Martha Stewart Show”. Go Martha!