Martha Stewart created incredible success for herself through a plethora of business ventures such as publishing, merchandising, presenting and also broadcasting.
Perhaps the most recognizable thing that many of you will think of when you think of she was convicted of lying to an investigator regarding a stock sale and served only five months in prison. (Just so the British readers understand, lying to an investigator in the US is a federal offense punishable by up to 5 years in prison.)
Many people thought inside the prison she would deteriorate and possibly have a mental breakdown however that did not happen, and on her return from prison, she bounced back massively and became even more successful than before.
On TV she had the Martha Stewart show and also appeared on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. Today, with her merchandise in many stores around the US, her lucrative television deals and her many books and magazines, she has an approximate net worth of $800million.
#29 Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller, although born in Cyprus, is a British artist manager and television producer manager. He’s also the television producer and the founding creator of the Pop Idol franchise.
Pop Idol first appeared in the UK and there are now over 100 different versions including American Idol and Australian Idol to name just a few.
He has also being a manager for some talented performers – the most notable ones being Annie Lennox, the Spice Girls, and S Club female escort in Cedar Rapids IA 7.
He was the chief executive in 19 Entertainment, which has offices in London, LA, and New York. He founded that business in 1985 after leaving Chrysalis Ltd, where he worked with some of the most profound names in the music industry, such as Madonna.
In 1985, aged only 25 years old, he signed the musician Paul Hardcastle and his first song went to number one in both the UK and the US charts with his Vietnam song,”19”.
In 1999 he got his first taste of working in television after he had auditioned over 10,000 people to form a new pop band. That band became known as S Club 7.
The band later became one of the most popular pop bands of the era, taking many number one places in the UK and the US charts. ?
Fuller came up with the idea for Pop Idol following the success of S Club 7. The process was a fun way to decide which musicians and singers to have in a band.
Pop Idol became an enormous success and later went over the waters to America where it was just as successful. Fuller persuaded some of the best presenters and judges in the entertainment industry to appear on the show, which created more hype and made the program even more successful.
#30 Michael Newton
Mike Newton, the founder and chief innovator at successful CCTV company NetVu – a pioneer of innovative technology and surveillance.
Michael changed the UK in big ways back in 1982 when he started with a CCTV system that monitored how long a person was at a snooker table (in a bar).
He soon introduced a line of multi-channel systems able to view across a broad range of areas all at once and not just in a singular location. He continued to add new systems to his arsenal and introduced them all to the UK.
If it wasn’t for his ingenuity and passion for what he did, it may have been another few years until the introduction of a similar CCTV device in the UK.