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Before there were tradwives promoting the joys of homemaking on Instagram, there was Martha Stewart. Telling “Skinny Confidential” hosts Lauryn and Michael Bosstick in February 2026 that she was “the original tradwife,” Stewart rose to unprecedented success by being, in her own words, “one of the pioneers in the subject of living.” But unlike modern tradwives, who typically advocate for women serving their husbands in lieu of earning an income, Stewart took her domestic business public. Not quite the docile supporting character in some man’s life, the cookbook author and catering mogul was the first female self-made billionaire in the U.S. And though she’s never strayed from her domestic goddess roots, she does enjoy the fruits of all that labor. Aside from a killer real estate portfolio and luxury travel habits, she particularly loves adding to her high-end sartorial collection, telling Harper’s Bazaar in 2013 that her “go-to pieces are from Lanvin, Hermès, Céline, and Loro Piana.”
Stewart launched her own catering business in 1976, which turned into a publishing deal for the cookbook “Entertaining” within six years. Her brand soon evolved to include everything from TV shows to restaurants. “I think I helped so many other women believe in their own ideas and their own business plans and their own paths to glory,” she shared with People in 2020.
Today, Stewart is said to be worth about $400 million, per Celebrity Net Worth, having lost her billionaire status when stocks in her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, dropped in 2002. However, her persistence in business, even after a brief stint in prison for insider trading in 2004, has ensured that she’s remained a success even with the volatility of the stock market. You thought Taylor Swift lives a lavish life? Here’s a glimpse into Martha’s world.
Martha Stewart has properties fit for a queen
Despite becoming a household name and brand, Martha Stewart has never forgotten that her first love is good old-fashioned homemaking, and that’s reflected in her real estate portfolio. While other multi-millionaires might pour their money into mansions in Miami’s Millionaire’s Row (as Anna Kournikova does in her own lavish life), Stewart has made sure that she mainly resides on farms, just as she always had.
One of the most prolific of her estates is her Upstate New York farm, often referred to as “Cantitoe Corners” or “Bedford Farm.” Spanning 152 acres, the estate began as a humble farmhouse in 1925, which Stewart purchased in 2000 and brought back to life. Today, there’s a horse farm with a traditional stone stable, a gym, greenhouses, a chef’s kitchen, guest houses, and of course, a flower garden on the grounds. She also has two estates in Seal Harbor, Maine: Skylands and Ox Ledge. The former was acquired in 1997 and features another chef’s kitchen, 12 bedrooms, and a luxe pink-granite driveway, while the latter was a neighboring estate that was purchased later. No East Coast girl boss would be complete without a Manhattan residence, so Stewart also has a 5th Avenue apartment on the Upper East Side which she bought in 1988.
Over the years, the author has bought and sold other properties to flesh out her portfolio, including an apartment on Perry Street in New York’s West Village, which she sold in 2004 for $6.65 million. There was also a cottage (term used very loosely) in East Hampton which was listed for $8.4 million and sold in 2021, and her iconic Turkey Hill farm in Connecticut. Having bought it in 1973, this is where she launched her business before selling the residence for $6.7 million in 2007.
Martha Stewart speaks fluent Hermès
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We tend not to think of Martha Stewart as a style guru — or at least, we didn’t until she graced the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2023 and obliterated beauty standards. As it happens, the woman behind the apron is incredibly fashion-forward. And when it comes to her wardrobe, her tastes definitely lean towards the higher end.
“I have a whole collection of nice handbags,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in 2025. “My favorite would probably be my brown Hermès Birkin.” While appearing outside court in 2004 during her highly publicized trial, Stewart came to slay with pearls, cashmere, and a $10,000 Hermès bag. It’s not just the iconic handbags that she loves from the legendary French brand; she also reaches for it when it comes to wardrobe staples. “I collect [Hermès] shirts,” she told Interview in 2023. “They’re the most wearable, beautiful, best-made clothing.” Of course, she’s not exclusively loyal to Hermès, also filling her fashion rotation with the likes of Armani suits (telling Vogue in 2023 that she has 40 of them) and dresses from Jenny Packham, Carolina Herrera, and Oscar de la Renta. Giambattista Valli is another Martha-approved designer, while she often turns to Prada for her footwear and Harry Winston for her jewels.
All that said, Stewart is anything but a style snob. Her closet may be bursting with Dennis Basso and Brunello Cucinelli, but her everyday essential bag is actually much more accessible to the masses: the Bandolier crossbody phone case. She told Vogue that she doesn’t “buy junk,” but she does choose more practical pieces than expensive Hermès for when she’s cooking: “I’m not very messy, so I rarely spot anything, but heaven forbid if I wore something like one of my leather blouses.”
No one travels like Martha Stewart
She may have reached icon status, but Martha Stewart still keeps fans updated through her personal blog. Along with sharing recipes and gardening tips, she shares stories about her travel adventures. And like the other elements of her life, they’re naturally a bit fancy.
“My favorite kind of travel of all travel is helicopter, and if I could have one vehicle to take me everywhere, it would be a helicopter,” she told USA Today in 2025. “But since I don’t have one, I ride in them whenever I can, because I think it’s the most beautiful way to see the landscape.” Surprisingly, the homemaking extraordinaire doesn’t seem to have her own jet, but she does fly private. To the premiere of Netflix’s documentary “Martha,” she flew private courtesy of the streaming giant (which then became awkward when she reportedly didn’t love their take on her life). When she’s not flying private, she and her family travel in business class on commercial planes, as they did for a 2017 trip to London, England, that was later chronicled on her blog.
Stewart seems to follow action-packed itineraries when she’s traveling, and she also seems to stay at the best of the best. In the Dominican Republic, she reportedly stayed at the exclusive Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, where a classic villa can set you back nearly $3,000 per night (via Booking.com). Meanwhile, during a January 2017 trip to Paris, France, she stayed at The Ritz. We’d also wager that Stewart does a fair bit of shopping during her travels, as evidenced by a 2026 Instagram shot that showed her carting several suitcases in Milan, Italy, for the Winter Olympics. Maybe they’re full of airport outfits that will never go out of style?
Inside Martha Stewart’s A-lister friendships and star-studded social life
It might seem that Martha Stewart operates in a totally different space from many of the other A-listers of our era, but after achieving success in the lifestyle field, the entrepreneur has made connections right across the board. Her life is made all the more lavish by her friendships with some of the biggest stars on the planet, including the Kardashians, and famously, Snoop Dogg.
Her bond with the rapper kicked off in 2008, when Snoop was brought on as a guest on Stewart’s cooking show. The pair became frequent collaborators in each other’s projects after that, and also became each other’s biggest supporters. They even attended the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics together. Beyond Snoop, Stewart was a guest at Kris Jenner’s star-studded 70th birthday bash, appeared at coveted Super Bowl parties, is often seated front row at fashion shows, and has scored invites to some of Hollywood’s most prestigious events, including the annual Vanity Fair Oscar Party and several awards shows. An Emmy winner herself, Stewart even had her statuettes dipped in silver rather than the standard gold to reflect her personal taste.
Stewart’s enviable social life culminates in luxurious parties that she throws at home every year, including her annual holiday party. Writing on her blog about her 2019 soirée, she revealed that she hosted more than 200 guests in three houses on her estate. They were greeted by “delicious fresh oysters on the terrace parterre” along with an abundance of shrimp, salmon, smoked chicken, ham, and a show-stopping croquembouche. “Friends, family, and neighbors also enjoyed music from a jazz guitarist and photos with Santa! It was a cold day, but everyone had a most wonderful time!” the host recalled.
Martha Stewart has a large staff to help create a comfortable life
Martha Stewart’s lavish life isn’t all play — lots of work is involved, too. But when you reach this level of elite status, the work becomes less back-breaking and more boss-lady-coded. Stewart may have started from the ground up, but today she has a huge team helping her behind the scenes to make things run smoothly and create the life she desires.
Exactly how many people work for the icon now, we can’t say. But during the COVID-19 pandemic alone, she had 30 employees based out of her Bedford Farm residence. Among them was a housekeeper, a gardener, a driver, and a doctor to administer COVID tests to the rest of the staff twice a week. She’s been known to have a trainer who comes to her house, as well as a chauffeur. “My big luxury is my driver, who gets me into the city in about an hour,” she told Harper’s Bazaar back in 2013. Other employees include executives who help with her daily operations meetings, plus an array of assistants. “I record my radio show, and my staff makes me a nice lunch in the kitchen, usually fish — whatever’s freshest and line-caught — and a salad,” she explained, adding that “another major luxury” is having her sheets ironed and her linens changed “nearly every day.”
But has having minions at her every beck and call gone to her head? Not a chance! “There’s no hierarchy in my life,” she admitted to Harper’s Bazaar in 2021. “I will wash the floor if I have to wash the floor. I’ll take out the garbage if nobody else has taken out the garbage. The CEO should be available to everybody at all times, if possible.” And that’s the real reason she’s a boss.
