He is a member of the Bar of New York, the Bloomberg Professor of Business and Economic Journalism at theColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism,[1] Editor-at-Large ofSmartMoney magazine, and author ofTangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff (2011).[2] He is a former associate at New York law firmCravath, Swaine & Moore, which he left in 1979 to become executive editor ofThe American Lawyer magazine.[3] He later joinedThe Wall Street Journal, where earned the 1987Gerald Loeb Award for Deadline and/or Beat Writing.[4] He shared the 1988Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism and the Gerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers for his articles about the 1987 dramatic upheaval in thestock market andinsider trading. These writings led to the publishing of his best-selling work of non-fiction calledDen of Thieves (1991), which recounted the criminal conduct of Wall Street arbitragerIvan Boesky andjunk bond kingMichael Milken.[5] Stewart became page one editor ofThe Wall Street Journal in 1988 and remained at the paper until 1992, when he left to help foundSmartMoney.[3]
Stewart's bookBlind Eye: The Terrifying Story Of A Doctor Who Got Away With Murder (1999), won the 2000Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category.DisneyWar (2005), his book onMichael Eisner's reign at Disney, won the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book.[6] In 2007, he was ranked 21st onOut magazine's 50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America.[7] He is currently a contributor toThe New Yorker and a columnist forThe New York Times, which he joined in 2011.[3] Stewart also serves on the board of advisory trustees of his alma mater,DePauw University, and is past president of that board.[8]
On August 12, 2019, Stewart reported on a conversation he had with convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein. Epstein reportedly told Stewart that he was advisingElon Musk andTesla. Stewart was also told by Epstein that he had dirt on powerful people including personal details about their sexual activities and drug use.[9]
On July 31, 2019, Stewart along withMatthew Goldstein andJessica Silver-Greenberg reported about Epstein's interest inEugenics and how he wished to seed the human race by using his own DNA. He also reportedly wanted his head and penis frozen.[10]
In October 2019, Stewart and Emily Flitter partnered on a piece which provided more detail as to Epstein's relationship with Microsoft founderBill Gates, which had started after Epstein had become a registered sex offender.[11]
Stewart, James (2023).Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy.Penguin Press.ISBN978-1984879424. (with Rachel Abrams)
Stewart was inducted as a Laureate ofThe Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2002 in the area of Communications.[12]
In 1996 Stewart received an honorary doctorate from Quincy University.
Stewart has earned fiveGerald Loeb Awards: the 1987 Deadline and/or Beat Writing award for "Coverage of Wall Street Insider Trading Scandal",[4] the 1988 Large Newspapers award for "Terrible Tuesday",[13][14][15] the 2006 Business Book award for "DisneyWar",[16] the 2016 Commentary award for "Inside the Boardroom",[17] and the 2019 Feature award for "'If Bobbie Talks, I'm Finished': How Les Moonves Tried to Silence an Accuser".[18]
^Stewart, James B. (April 19, 2011).Tangled Webs: How False Statements Are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff. Penguin Press.ISBN978-1594202698.
