more than 15,000 products carry kathy ireland's name.re are now kathy ireland tables, area rugs, lamps, window replacements? i guess wedding dresses now, too. >> we design products that work the way we live. so, now, from her engagement ring to the wedding gown, the fine china and crystal to her flooring as she's nesting, that baby crib, the cradle, her windows, up to the creeiling fa. really bring it all together. >> reporter: an empire that started 20 years ago with socks. one would have expected you yo start with swim wear and yet you started with socks? swim wear would have been too obvious with that modeling background. >> reporter: nobody would have bought it because they know they're not going to look like kathy ireland when they put it on? >> they might have bought a bikini from me, but what then? i wanted to build a real brand that would be lasting. >> reporter: did one of your strat jimss say socks? >> i was actually offered the opportunity to model a pair of socks and it was at a time when not a lot of job offers were coming m

kathy ireland proves anything is possible. cutive years. and transitioned from those covers to the cover of "forbes" magazine. she used her celebrity to launch hundreds of business ventures over the past two decades. >> hi. i'm kathy. >> reporter: and now has a retail empire valued more than martha stewart, at a whopping $2 billion. we got a rare, exclusive glimpse into her lavish lifestyle. >> all look amazing. >> reporter: and somehow, she manages to juggle her smashing success. but unlike most models, kathy ireland worldwide sells different products. from ceiling fans to flooring, to household furniture and windows. even a jewelry line. something she attributes to learning from her mentor, the late elizabeth taylor. worth over $350 million, kathy ireland is a force to be reckoned with. only a few can say they went from being a supermodel to a supermogul. >>> and joining us now, kathy ireland, ceo and chief designer of kathy ireland worldwide. it is such a pleasure to meet you. >> thank you, robin. such a pleasure to be here

kathy ireland tweets in defense of donny deutsch's -- kathy ireland, supermodel. >> i know who kathy eland is. >> the billionaire brand. >> incredible businesswoman. >> incredible businesswoman, incredible person. >> yeah. >> and the last person you would think -- >> i know, right? >> because i love kathy ireland. everybody loves kathy ireland. >> a lot of respect for her. kind of lost it, though. >> she defends donny deutsch's double breasted suit. >> blazer. >> blazer, i mean. >> i'm with her on that. >> from the captain stubing collection. >> who did you call? >> exactly. >> i thought your blazer was fantastic. >> thank you, jonathan. jonathan, by the way, i'm so happy -- what did kathy ireland say, by the way? >> oh, shut up. how much did you pay her? [ laughter ] >> are there exact words to what she said? was it more of a thought? >> "the new york times" person that wrote that, and then somebody else wrote about mika going after barnicle, they don't understand, we're just having fun. >> they think i don't like them. >> we're just having fun. by the wa >> by the way, mr. capehart,

supermodels like kathy ireland leveraged their brand. and of course, there were the commercials. even some of the biggest names in hollywood. >> people wanted to know everything about them. who they were dating. where they came from. >> reporter: all the attention delivered big paychecks and sometimes even bigger egos. who could forget linda evangelista's infamous quote, we don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day. it all paved the way for the cover models of today, just l, barbara, miranda kerr, and brooklyn decker. a new generation on a runway of fame made possible by the supermodels of the '80s. so where are these famous faces now? it may not be the cover of vogue but most are still in the spotlight whether it be running their own business, on television, and many are involved in charitable causes. >> three of those supermodels of the '80s are with us now. we've got alana davis, kelly enberg and kim alexis. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> needless to say you are still beautiful. let's take a look back. i mean when we hear that term supermodel, i wonder, do we

kathy ireland called. she wants a tweet back. she wants a tweet back.ou were discussing -- we are going to pray for you during the break. >> can you be quiet now, too? >> really? >> yes. it's your show. it's called "morning joe." the president, he's the leader. right. "morning joe," this is your table. everyone needs to shut their pie holes and let me talk, okay? >> how about that buffett rule? can you believe that? >> i wish we had a new story on that. >> both democrats and republicans knew the so-called buffett rule wasn't going anywhere. it didn't stop them from setting up a key dividing line. democrats fell nine votes short of the 60 to move forwa enact to 30% tax on millionaires. billionaires argue their secretaries shouldn't pay a higher rate than he does. no taxes should be raised right now and are countering with a plan to cut taxes for businesses. cnn polling shows 72% of americans support taxing the wealthy americans. chuck schumer who pushed the vote said it could be called the buffett rule or romney rule, he's not going to want to have his i

. >> and there are some people, including kathy ireland, that actually like donny deutsch.ical fact that americans don't usually kick incumbents out of the white house. and he said that over the past 50 years, perhaps, only jimmy carter and george h.w. bush were kicked out of the white house. and he doesn't see that happening to barack obama. and yet we've got a volatility. republicans wa republicans won or lost to independents by 18 or 20 points and then they lost by 18 or 20 points. i don't think it applies now. what do you think? >> i think that's right. i have a theory that because of the social media, because of the saturation coverage, four years now feels like eight. and we get -- we spend so much time with these candidates, these presidents, with us, that it feels as though they have been around. and therefore, wear out their welcome, more quickly. that's true on carter and the first president bush. it's also true that you had a couple of really anom las situations. in 1968, the democrat was too unpopular to run. in 19 -- the watergate, ford/nixon situation, obvious

you see, this is why i think kathy ireland -- >> honestly, alex, what are you getting on the controlhis? >> nothing i can read on air. >>> rupert murdoch is pointing the finger at two former employees in what he. >> caller:s -- what he called a cover-up. he would have closed the paper a lot sooner had he known what was going on. >> "the news of the world" quite honestly was an aberration and it's my fault. all i can do is apologize to a lot of people, including all the innocent people at "the news of the world" who lost their jobs. i'm guilty of not having paid enough attention to "the news of the world" probably throughout all of the time that we've owned it. >> let's go now to "the new york daily news." >> by the way, he's like 81 years old. and he's completely -- he's still on top of his game at 81. >> yeah. >> we lived in the same building for a while. he was renting while they were doing the apartment. what's so funny? >> nothing. keep going. >> throughout the show, we're going to be -- >> just go ahead. >> i tell you what i love about the guy. the guy would be up in the morning