{
  "id": 12900296,
  "title": "Martha Stewart says Kmart once paid her $65 million a year in royalties—enough to bankroll her entire empire",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/martha-stewart-says-kmart-once-paid-her-65-million-a-year-in",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-08T15:24:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/10/08/martha-stewart-kmart-royalties-65-million-year-empire/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Martha Stewart claims that Kmart once paid her a staggering $65 million annually in royalties, enough to sustain her entire business empire. The discount chain hired Stewart as a lifestyle consultant and spokesperson for its home division in 1987. However, their collaboration fizzled out in the early 1990s due to Stewart's dissatisfaction with Kmart's merchandising and quality control. After Floyd Hall became CEO in 1995, Kmart reached out to her again, leading to a lucrative deal in 1997. Kmart agreed to a generous contract, providing her with significant royalties on every sale of her designed products and covering the advertising costs. During the height of the partnership, the merchandise line generated close to $2 billion in annual sales. The arrangement proved to be a strategic move, as Kmart had to compete with the retail giant Walmart at the time. Despite facing legal troubles and Kmart's bankruptcy in 2002, the Kmart line continued to generate substantial revenue for Stewart's company until 2010. The partnership ended when Sears Holdings, Kmart's parent company, declined to renew the deal. Stewart's fortune took a hit following the ImClone Systems stock sale in 2001, which avoided a loss of about $45,000. She was later found guilty of insider trading and served time in prison, which she claimed cost her approximately a billion dollars. Despite this setback, Stewart's second act has been thriving, with partnerships such as the VH1 cooking show with Snoop Dogg and a successful AI startup. At 85 years old, she shows no signs of slowing down, with new businesses and ventures constantly emerging.",
  "summary": "Before \"influencer\" was a job title, Stewart turned a discount-store licensing deal into nearly $2 billion in annual sales. Then the ImClone scandal cost her about $1 billion.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}