Speaking during RISKWORLD 2025, Martha Stewart said some of her friends lost homes in the LA wildfires. (Credit: David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons)
CHICAGO — Martha Stewart gave a wide-ranging keynote presentation this week at RISKWORLD 2025, the 75th annual risk management convention, which was expected to draw 11,000 attendees from more than 70 countries for three days of speakers, exhibits and networking events at McCormick Place.
Stewart joined RIMS President Kristen Peed for a chat about her career, the advice she’d give others and even her next door neighbor, Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg. (“It’s very convenient having your insurance guy right next door,” she said.)
Stewart said she has taken a lot of risks in her life, but she doesn’t regret how things have turned out. “I would tell my younger self to do the same thing over again,” she said. “I’ve had a phenomenal career.”
Highlights from the conversation included:
Early career: Stewart got her start on Wall Street, working for a brokerage firm in her 20s. “I learned early on what made a good company.” When she left the brokerage firm, she started a catering company in Connecticut, and her Wall Street clients became her catering clients.
Snoop Dogg: “He comes from a very different background than I come from,” she said. “But we’ve expanded each other’s audiences. When I go to Seal Harbor now, they all want to know how Snoop is doing.”
Warren Buffett: Stewart joked that one of her biggest regrets was not marrying Warren Buffett. He once picked her up from the airport in an old Chevy with a license plate that said, “Thrifty.” Bill Gates was trying to set them up, but Stewart thought it was just a business meeting.
Mentors: Stewart counts Gates, Steve Jobs and other tech entrepreneurs as mentors. “These guys are just so nerdy and just so smart, and you can learn a lot from them,” she said. She said technology has played a big role in her career — her magazine was one of the first to move to digital layouts, for example.
LA wildfires: Stewart was in LA at the start of the wildfires and could see the smoke from the building where she was having a meeting with Sketchers. Many of her friends lost their homes, Stewart said, or have homes that are now surrounded by blackened land.
Tariffs: Stewart has partnerships with companies in China and isn’t a fan of the recent tariffs imposed on the country. “It’s not good for business,” she said. “It’s not good for building businesses.”
New projects: She’s working on a digital home organizer that will include important documents, like insurance information. “If I were to get into a car accident, with the touch of a button, I’ll be able to know what my deductible is,” she said. She’s also opening a store in Dubai and has a new TV show with chef Jose Andres called Yes, Chef.
Risks: “I take a lot of risks,” she said. “I don’t take wild chances, but I do take calculated risks.” Stewart said one of the biggest risks she’s ever taken was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. “I cooked all the way up for the porters,” she said. “They were making horrible food.” She said she even flambéed pancakes for them.
Advice: Stewart works to learn something new every day. “Read, read, read,” she said. “Learn, learn, learn. All the time.”
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