*Birth Name: Steve Madden

*Born on January 1, 1958 in Cedarhurst, New York of Irish and Jewish descent

*In 1975 attended the University of Miami for two years
-his father quit paying his tuition when Madden began flunking

*In 1978 worked at Jilder a clothing boutique in New York after leaving school

*In 1979-1988 worked for L.J. Simone, a wholesaler of women’s boots
-Started a footwear line with a former co-worker from L.J. Simone called Souliers, but it never took off

*In 1990 he founded Steve Madden Shoes using a line of credit
-He produced 500 pairs of shoes and had $1000 to his name

*1st shoe he designed was called the “Marilyn” and it was a clog with a pointy toe
-He drove around New York City selling to stores from the trunk of his car

*His company began to take off with the “Mary Lou,” a patent leather Mary Jane style shoe with exaggerated toe
-was a huge hit with teens

*In 1993 opened his 1st shoe store in New York City, SoHo and decided to public trade the company
-Madden’s friend Danny Porush and his partner Jordan Belmont were the IPO’s underwriters under their company, Stratton Oakmont

*By 1995, sales were around $59 million
-Began to license denim, jewelry, handbags and hosiery

*In 1997 Stratton Oakmont declared bankruptcy and was being investigated by Securities and Exchange Commission
-Became a criminal investigation that would later involve Madden
-Documents appeared in a lawsuit that Belfort had control of Madden’s company

*In 2002 was forced to resign from his company as chair and chief executive officer, after being convicted of securities fraud & stock manipulation
– took a plea bargain and was sentenced to 41 months in prison, levied an $80,000 fine, and had to pay $3.1 million in restitution

*While in prison, he was able to stay on as creative director of the company he founded making $700,000 a year

*In 2005 he was released and married the Director of Operations of the company, Wendy Ballew and they have two children

*The Steve Madden brand net worth today is over $297 million

Fun Fact:

*Madden owns Betsy Johnson line

Bornrich.com; notalebiographies.com