Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who was the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and interim CEO from 2022 to 2023. Schultz owned the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

basketball team from 2001 to 2006. Schultz began working at Starbucks in 1982. He later left and opened Il Giornale, a specialty coffeeshop that merged with Starbucks during the late 1980s. Under Schultz, the company established a large network of stores which has influenced coffee culture in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, the U.S., and internationally. Following large-scale distribution deals, Starbucks became the largest coffee-house chain in the world. Schultz took the company

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

in 1992 and used a $271 million valuation to double their store count in a series of highly publicized

coffee wars Coffee wars, sometimes referred to as caffeine wars, involve a variety of sales and marketing tactics by coffeehouse chains and espresso machine manufacturers to increase brand and consumer market share. In North America belligerents in these wa ...

. He stepped down as CEO in 2000, succeeded by Orin Smith. Due to the rapid expansion of Starbucks under Schultz's leadership, he has been described as the “

Ray Kroc Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman who was instrumental in turning McDonald's into the most successful global fast food corporation by revenue. He purchased it from the McDonald Brothers in ...

of his generation”. During the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, Schultz returned as chief executive. Succeeding Jim Donald, Schultz led a mass firing of executives and employees and shuttered hundreds of stores. He orchestrated multiple acquisitions of American and Chinese beverage companies, introduced a national

loyalty program A loyalty program or rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program. Single-company vs. coalition programs Loyalty progr ...

, and enforced fair trade standards. His aggressive expansion in Chinese markets has been credited with reconciling the country's tea-culture with coffee consumption in China. Schultz was succeeded by Kevin Johnson as CEO in April 2017 and Myron Ullman as chairman in June 2018. Schultz has written four books on business. He is an outspoken

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

. Schultz publicly considered a candidacy in the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, and 2020 U.S. presidential elections as an independent candidate. He declined to join all three contests. His positions on domestic politics are socially liberal and fiscally moderate. In foreign policy, he is seen as a "

liberal hawk The term liberal hawk refers to a politically liberal person (generally, in Modern liberalism in the United States, the American sense of the term) who supports a hawkish, Interventionism (politics), interventionist foreign policy. Overview Past ...

", favoring American-led international affairs and

neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...

. Schultz was named the 209th-richest person in the U.S. by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' with a

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...

of $4.3

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...

(October 2020). Schultz started the Schultz Family Foundation to help military veterans and fight youth unemployment. On March 16, 2022, Starbucks announced that CEO Kevin Johnson was retiring and that Howard Schultz would take over as interim CEO until

Laxman Narasimhan Laxman Narasimhan (born 15 May 1967) is an Indian-born American business executive and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Starbucks and Reckitt. He was previously chief commercial officer (CCO) of PepsiCo. He joined Starbucks as interim CEO ...

took over as CEO in April 2023. On March 20, 2023, Schultz announced that he would be stepping down early from the position.

Early life and education

Howard D. Schultz was born on July 19, 1953, to

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

parents, Fred and Elaine Schultz, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. His father was a truck driver while his mother was a receptionist. Howard has two siblings.Howard is constantly reminding his team, "We are not in the coffee business serving people; we are in the people business serving coffee
Kellogg School of Management: "Howard Schultz and Starbucks Coffee Company" by
Nancy F. Koehn November 28, 2011. Archived January 4, 2014. Schultz grew up in the

Canarsie Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

projects. According to Schultz, his family was poor, although childhood contemporaries recount a middle-class upbringing, with one of his contemporaries referring to the development in which he was raised as "the country club of projects." Schultz spent his time after school at the Boys Club of New York. He is active in the Boys’ Club of New York's Alumni. Schultz graduated from

Canarsie High School Canarsie High School was a public high school in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Canarsie in New York City. It first opened in 1964 but closed in 2011. The building currently operates as Canarsie Educational Campus, housing several smaller high sc ...

in 1971. He attended

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...

(NMU) from 1971 to 1975, where he was a member of

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...

fraternity, graduating with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

. He had played football, expecting an athletic scholarship but an injury caused him to quit.

Career

Early career

In 1976, he became a salesman for

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

in New York. In 1979, he was recruited by French private equity firm

PAI Partners PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, historically the principal investment arm of Paribas, which started opera ...

to be general manager of a Swedish kitchenware manufacturer's U.S. subsidiary, Hammarplast. At Hammarplast, Schultz was responsible for the coffee machine manufacturer's U.S. operations, and in 1981 he visited the Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle to fill their plastic cone filter orders.

Starbucks

In 1982, at age 29, Schultz was hired at Starbucks as the director of retail operations and marketing. Schultz was exposed to

coffee in Italy Coffee in Italy is an important part of Italian food culture. Italians are well known for their special attention to the preparation, the selection of the blends, and the use of accessories when creating many types of coffees. Many of the type ...

on a buying trip to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, in 1983. On his return, he worked to persuade company owners

Jerry Baldwin Gerald Baldwin is an American businessman. He and two other entrepreneurs, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl, founded Starbucks in Seattle, in 1971. He is a Sonoma Valley vintner, and co-founder of J. Baldwin Wines. Career Jerry Baldwin was born t ...

and

Gordon Bowker Gordon Bowker is an American entrepreneur who began his career as a writer and later co-founded Starbucks with Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl. He was later a co-owner of Peet's Coffee & Tea and Redhook Ale Brewery. Biography Following his fath ...

to offer traditional espresso beverages in addition to the whole bean coffee, leaf teas, and spices. After a successful pilot of the cafe concept, Baldwin and Bowker were intrigued but, noting the high cost of espresso machines, the relative paucity of expertise for maintenance and repair of the machines in America, and Americans' lack of familiarity with the drink, they decided not to deploy Schultz's idea further and he stepped down from Starbucks to start his own business. Schultz left Starbucks in 1985 to open a store of his own. He needed $400,000 to start his business. Schultz visited over 500 espresso bars in Milan and, with him assuming most of the risk associated with introducing espresso to the American market, Starbucks invested $150,000 in the new venture, with Baldwin receiving a place on its board and Bowker offering unofficial assistance. Another $100,000 investment came from local doctor Ron Margolis. Of the 242 investors Schultz approached, 217 rejected his idea. By 1986, he had raised the money he needed to open the first store, Il Giornale, named after the Milanese newspaper of the same name. The store offered ice cream in addition to coffee, had little seating, and played opera music in the background. Two years later, the original Starbucks management team decided to focus on

Peet's Coffee & Tea Peet's Coffee is a San Francisco Bay Area-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer owned by Dutch multinational coffee and tea company JDE Peet's. Founded in 1966 by Alfred Peet in Berkeley, California, Peet's introduced the United States to ...

and sold its Starbucks retail unit to Schultz and Il Giornale for US$3.8 million. Schultz rebranded Il Giornale with the Starbucks name, and expanded its reach across the United States. This type of market strategy received mixed reception from both customers and competitors. The firm's relations with independent coffeehouse chains were strained, while some owners credited Starbucks with educating customers on coffee. Schultz did not believe in

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...

, and made a point of having Starbucks retain ownership of every domestic outlet. Schultz's positioning of Starbucks as a social hub is widely seen as introducing the second wave of coffee culture in the U.S., particularly in

. On June 26, 1992, Starbucks had its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

(IPO) and trading of its common stock under the stock ticker SBUX. The IPO raised $271 million for the company and financed the doubling of their stores. On June 1, 2000, Schultz stepped down as CEO of Starbucks, moving to the new position of chief global strategist to help the company expand internationally. He was succeeded by Orin Smith, who worked with Schultz as his chief financial officer during the 1990s. After coordinating the first store opening in China in January 1999, Schultz took the following year to develop a customer base for coffee in the region. Throughout the late-2000s and early-2010s, Schultz directed the company to plan one to two store openings a day in mainland China. Back in the firm's U.S. market, various

with McDonalds and

Dunkin' DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. T ...

lowered Starbucks' marketshare and the stock price fell 75% from 2006 to 2008. While revenue was growing broadly, it was largely dependent on new store openings creating unsustainable (or

inorganic An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemistry''. Inor ...

) growth. On January 7, 2008, after an eight-year hiatus, Schultz returned as CEO of Starbucks during the height of the

. He succeeded Jim Donald who took over from Smith in 2005. The coffeehouse was increasingly criticized for employee work conditions and their internal tipping policies during this time; in March 2009, he and the board approved a $100 million settlement in back tips in a barista-led

class action lawsuit A class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage R ...

in California. He led a mass-firing of executives, closed down hundreds of stores, and temporarily closed all U.S. locations to retrain employees in making espresso. Schultz redoubled and enforced the firm's fair trade and ethical source policies for their coffee bean supply-chain in Africa and other coffee-producing countries. In the succeeding two years, he doubled their annual purchase of fair trade coffee, up to, by some estimates, 40 million pounds. Schultz arranged the appointment of the coffeehouse's first chief technology officer. At this time, Schultz was earning a total compensation of $9.7 million, which included a base salary of $1.2 million, and

stock options In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the ''holder'', the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified dat ...

granted of $7.8 million. In addition to his board membership with Starbucks, Schultz was an early and significant stakeholder in

Jamba Juice Jamba, formerly known as Jamba Juice, is an American quick-service restaurant and juice bar chain that sells blended fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, and other food products. The first Jamba location, originally named Juice Club, opened ...

in 2011, and on the board of payment processing company, Square, Inc., until 2014. During the summer of 2014, Schultz launched the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, a partnership with

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, which allows all employees at Starbucks working 20 or more hours a week to qualify for free tuition through ASU's online courses. It was reported in 2018 that Schultz had taken a one-dollar annual salary sometime in the past couple of years. Schultz again stepped down as CEO in December 2016, assuming the position of executive chairman. From 2008 to 2017, Schultz oversaw nearly $100 billion added to the company's

market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...

. From the 1980s to his retirement, a series of

increased Starbucks from 11 coffeehouses in Seattle to 28,000 stores in 77 countries. On June 4, 2018, Schultz announced that he would retire from active management of Starbucks after 37 years, as he was considering amongst other options a campaign for U.S. president. Kevin Johnson, the firm's president and chief operating officer for the previous two years, succeeded Schultz as CEO while Myron Ullman took over as chairman in June 2018. Schultz would return to the role of CEO in an interim position following Johnson departing the position in March 2022. On March 20, 2023, two weeks before he was projected to turn the leadership of the company over to incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan, Schultz stepped down as interim CEO of Starbucks. Schultz appeared before the

United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction also extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Sena ...

on March 29, 2023.

Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm

In January 2001, Schultz led a group of ten investors who bought the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

from the

Ackerley Group The Ackerley Group was an American media company founded by businessman Barry Ackerley that owned and operated several radio stations in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, as well as television stations across the United States (primarily in New York ...

for $200 million. During his tenure as the SuperSonics team owner, he was criticized for his naïveté and propensity to run the franchise as a business rather than a sports team. Schultz feuded with player

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

, feeling that Payton disrespected him and the team by not showing up to the first day of training camp in 2002. In February 2006, he stated that the SuperSonics needed $200 million to renovate

KeyArena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it wa ...

or build a new arena for the team, and if the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, w ...

would not approve this, he would look to sell or move the team. On July 18, 2006, Schultz sold the team to Clay Bennett, chairman of the

Professional Basketball Club LLC Professional Basketball Club LLC is an investment group headed by Clay Bennett that owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics) and the Thunder's NBA G League affiliate Ok ...

, an

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

ownership group, for $350 million, after having failed to convince the city of

to provide public funding to build a new arena in the Greater Seattle area to replace

. At the time of the team's sale, it was speculated that the new owners would move the team to their city some time after the 2006–2007 NBA season. Schultz filed a lawsuit against Bennett – in April 2008 – to rescind the July 2006 sale based on what Schultz claimed was fraud and intentional misrepresentation. However, Schultz dropped the lawsuit in August 2008. When Bennett purchased the SuperSonics and its sister franchise in the WNBA, the Seattle Storm, for $350 million, he agreed to a stipulation that he would make a "good-faith best effort" for one year to keep both teams in Seattle. The sincerity of the good-faith effort was widely disputed by the way Bennett acted and by direct quotes from his partner

Aubrey McClendon Aubrey Kerr McClendon (July 14, 1959 – March 2, 2016) was an American businessman primarily engaged in natural gas exploration. He was the co-founder, CEO and chairman of Chesapeake Energy (now Expand Energy), and, after being forced from the ...

. On January 8, 2008, Bennett sold the Storm to Force 10 Hoops, LLC, an ownership group of four Seattle women, which kept the team in Seattle. On July 2, 2008, the city of Seattle reached a settlement with the new ownership group and the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

for the

2008–09 NBA season The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals, four games to one. The 2008 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2008, and Derrick Ro ...

. The sale to the out-of-state owners considerably damaged Schultz's popularity in Seattle. In a local newspaper poll, Schultz was judged "most responsible" for the team leaving the city. Ten years later, in 2019, Schultz accepted full responsibility for the sale. "Selling the Sonics as I did is one of the biggest regrets of my professional life. I should have been willing to lose money until a local buyer emerged. I am forever sorry."

Author

Starbucks CEO visits Marines and Sailors at Camp Pendleton 141113-M-MV301-014

Schultz has written four books, three of which incorporate business memoir-style narratives. According to the

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the 16th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the ...

, his books are known to be a blend of "part memoir and part manifesto of corporate social responsibility". At the start of 2019, Schultz released an online class that covered the business leadership topics discussed in his books on the

MasterClass Yanka Industries, Inc., doing business as MasterClass, is an American online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields. The concept for MasterClass was conceiv ...

platform. Organizational consultant

Warren Bennis Warren Gamaliel Bennis (March 8, 1925 – July 31, 2014) was an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies.Dori Jones Yang. His second book, ''Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul'', co-written with Joanne Gordon, was published in 2011. Jeff Bailey, of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', called the book "self-flattering" and criticized its "mostly perfunctory account of Starbucks' actual problems". ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called the book "a personal, suspenseful, and surprisingly open account" of the rise of Starbucks. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' praised the book's "immense detail" but critiqued Schultz's coverage of "outside criticisms of his performance". ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' was critical, saying the book could only "appeal to business types but probably not to the average latte drinker". ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'' placed ''Onward'' within the top five books that " redictedthe future of workplace leadership" in 2014. All sale proceeds from the book were donated to the Starbucks Foundation, the firm's main charity. His third book, ''For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice'', co-written with

Rajiv Chandrasekaran Rajiv Chandrasekaran is an American journalist. He is a senior correspondent and associate editor at ''The Washington Post'', where he has worked since 1994. Life He grew up mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended Stanford University, w ...

, was published in 2014. ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' calling it "well-written" and "formidable." It was later added to the ''Times''' 2014 Winter Reading List. In writing a review for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' U.S. Army major general

Robert H. Scales Robert Hinds "Bob" Scales Jr. (August 5, 1944 – January 12, 2024) was a United States Army Major General and former Commandant of the United States Army War College. He is widely known for his work as a military analyst, news commentator, and a ...

stated "after reading this moving book I'll not likely pass a Starbucks again without stopping for a patriotic cup." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' published a similarly positive review. In 2019, he published his fourth book, ''From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America''. The book was widely seen as a candidate memoir as it was published right before the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

. His book received 1.9/5 stars on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, after some Democratic voters gave negative reviews, due his possible candidacy splitting the Democratic vote. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called the book "stunningly boring" and an "autobiography of a pretentious oligarch." A book promotion stop at Harvard University led to a small student protest. ''From the Ground Up'' was featured on ''

'''s bestseller list in February, and was listed as a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

for 2019. ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'' rated the book highly, yet called it "caffeine free" for its inability to "harness his business success" in a potential White House run.

Political views

Schultz is an outspoken

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...

, and political independent. Schultz's political positions are similar to the Democratic Party platform. Schultz supports

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

, a

balanced budget A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budge ...

, comprehensive tax reform, gun control, and same-sex marriage. Schultz hosted a fundraiser in his Seattle home for

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

during the 2008 presidential election cycle, eventually donating to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Since 2012, Schultz's public statements have led to press speculation that he would run for President of the United States. In both the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...

he endorsed the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. Schultz donated to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign twice, once on June 30, 2007, for $2,300, and again on October 24, 2008, for $2,300. He endorsed Democratic candidate

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

in the

2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...

Labor unions

Howard Schultz has been taking anti-union actions at Starbucks since the late 1980s. When unions were able to form at the company, they disbanded soon afterward, due to corporate reaction to their formation. In 2009, a bill known as the

Employee Free Choice Act The Employee Free Choice Act is the name for several legislative bills on US labor law (, , , , , , , , .) which have been proposed and sometimes introduced into one or both chambers of the U.S. Congress. The bill's purpose, as taken from the 20 ...

was being proposed in Congress. It would allow unions to form by simply gathering a majority of signatures in the workplace, what is known as a "card check", obviating the need to have secret ballot union-elections. Schultz, along with the

CEOs Kea (), also known as Tzia () and in antiquity Keos (, ), is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos regional unit. Geography It is the island of the Cyclades complex that is closest to Att ...

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...

, and

Whole Foods Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined. Examples of whole foods include grains such as oatmeal and rice, fruits, vegetables, dried beans, nuts, seeds, unprocessed meats, and fish. Depending on the context this may sometimes refe ...

lobbied to have this provision removed from the bill, and a provision making it easier for unions to secure their first bargaining agreement. The Employee Free Choice Act never made it into law. Schultz's overall vision on unions, and their place at Starbucks were published in a 2012 edition of his memoir entitled "Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time". Schultz wrote,

"I was convinced that under my leadership, employees would come to realize that I would listen to their concerns. If they had faith in me and my motives, they wouldn't need a union."

In 2022, as union organizing campaigns started to form at Starbucks, and gain victories, Schultz held a town hall meeting as he returned to the company as interim CEO. In the town hall Schultz said that Starbucks was "under assault from unionization", "outside forces", and that Starbucks did not need an intermediary between management, and labor. During these union organizing campaigns by Starbucks employees, the corporation has been firing employees who have engaged in unionizing. One employee who had been working to organize Starbucks workers in Arizona was fired just one hour after Schultz had finished speaking at his town hall. These terminations took place despite a notice of formal complaint from the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

against the retaliatory practices Starbucks had taken against employees who were working to unionize the corporation. On March 29, 2023, Schultz testified before the

. In response to most of the questions Schultz gave the same answer: "I support the law, and I also take offense with you categorizing me or Starbucks as a union buster when that is not true." During the hearing Sen. Bernie Sanders asked Schultz whether he would follow the ruling of

NLRB The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the National Labor Relations ...

administrative law judge Michael Rosas. Rosas had found that Starbucks had engaged in “egregious and widespread misconduct” in dealing with the unionizing efforts of its employees in

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

. As a result of these findings he ruled that the company must reinstate the employees they had fired, and Schultz must either read to his employees a letter informing them of their rights or be present for a meeting in which workers are informed of their rights. Schultz responded that he would not be following this ruling as he believed that Starbucks had not broken the law.

Climate change

As chief executive of Starbucks, Schultz has commented on the impact

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

has on coffee production. He has opposed the

United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement In April 2016, the United States became a signatory to the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, and accepted it by Executive order (United States), executive order in September 2016. President Obama committed the United States to cont ...

. To finance a

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without environmental degradation, degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological econ ...

, he has advocated for a combination of taxing oil and gas as well as harnessing

wind energy Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...

. Schultz has criticized the 2018

Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...

for being economically unrealistic.

Bipartisanship

In December 2012 Schultz penned an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to various newspapers about an upcoming initiative at Starbucks involving partisan gridlock in Washington. On December 27, Starbucks employees in Washington were asked to write "come together" on all cups distributed, to encourage bipartisanship in the federal government. During his exploratory 2020 presidential campaign, Schultz explained to multiple media outlets that, if elected, he wished to exclusively legislate with bipartisan support. This stance includes the appointment and confirmations of

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

justices.

Fiscal discipline

Schultz is averse to debt and, politically, is a

deficit hawk Deficit hawk is a political slang term in the English speaking world for people who place great emphasis on keeping government budgets under control. 'Hawk' can be used to describe someone calling for harsh or pain-inducing measures (alluding to t ...

. During his 2019 exploratory bid for the presidency, Schultz framed his candidacy as that of a

socially liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

deficit hawk with fiscally moderate leanings. In June 2018, Schultz stated in an interview that he thought the

national debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occ ...

is "the greatest threat domestically to the country" and that "we have to go after

entitlements An entitlement is a government program guaranteeing access to some benefit by members of a specific group and based on established rights or by legislation. A "right" is itself an entitlement associated with a moral or social principle, while an ...

." He has also stated that the nation's annual sovereign interest payments, totaling over $400 billion in 2020, is "unsustainable." President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's chief economist,

Jason Furman Jason Furman (born August 18, 1970) is an American economist and professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. On June 10, 2013, Fur ...

, was critical of Schultz's hard-lined "obsessive" position against sovereign debt: "America is not a company." Furman stated in February 2020, "many successful companies are much more leveraged than the United States."

Trade

Throughout the 2018 start and continuation of the U.S. trade war against China, Schultz has been critical of its motivations and handling, and has called for a reduction of trade tariffs and other import-export taxes. In 2008, Schultz doubled the amount of

fair trade coffee Fair trade coffee is coffee that is certified as having been produced to fair trade standards by fair trade organizations, which create trading partnerships that are based on dialogue, transparency and respect, with the goal of achieving greate ...

Starbucks bought. By the end of 2009, 65% of all coffee product was fair trade and by 2015, nearly all of it was. Starbucks signed an agreement with the

government of Ethiopia The government of Ethiopia () is the federal government of Ethiopia. It is structured in a framework of a federal republic, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, prime minister is the hea ...

in 2007 to ensure increased pay to farmers. Schultz committed to an agreement that all 747 stores in Britain would be certified fair trade by year-end. The agreement made Starbucks the largest buyer of fair trade coffee.

Business

Schultz claims to be a supporter of the

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

. In 2020 he described the treatment of business and capitalism by American society as "vilification". During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

(COVID-19), advocated for

fiscal stimulus In economics, stimulus refers to attempts to use monetary policy or fiscal policy (or stabilization policy in general) to stimulate the economy. Stimulus can also refer to monetary policies such as lowering interest rates and quantitative eas ...

to small businesses harmed during the crisis. Schultz described the

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th United States Congress, 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by Presiden ...

as insufficient, and criticized the Act's

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

(PPP) for being a temporary solution. On April 21, he called for the federal government to institute a "

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

" for small business, in the form of federally-backed loans.

Tax reform

Schultz said he supported "comprehensive tax reform" in January 2019. He opposed

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...

's proposal to raise the

marginal tax rate In a tax system, the tax rate is the ratio (usually expressed as a percentage) at which a business or person is taxed. The tax rate that is applied to an individual's or corporation's income is determined by tax laws of the country and can be in ...

on income over $10 million to 70%, saying it was "punitive" and contrary to the

American Dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

. He also opposed Donald Trump's passage of the

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs ...

, which lowered high-income and

corporate tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but ...

es. During a ''CNN'' town hall, he stated that he wanted the

for the highest-earning citizens to be increased from 37% to 39%. Schultz is against lowering taxes for large corporations, favoring tax cuts for middle-market and small businesses.

Same-sex marriage

Starbucks took an institutional stance in favor of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

in 2013 (two years prior to US Federal recognition). In response to a backlash from conservative and religious groups, Schultz told a shareholder meeting that opponents of the stance should "Sell your shares", and "buy shares in another company." His response was widely publicized, with ''

'' stating: "Schultz idsomething CEOs rarely do: He told off a shareholder." ''Fortune'' wrote that Schultz "

ook Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to: * Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec * On-off keying, in radio technology * Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska * Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck * Ook, the ...

on gay marriage before it was a topic most executives would even touch.

Healthcare

Under his leadership Starbucks became the first U.S. company to offer part-time workers, particularly baristas, healthcare. Schultz is against

Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

. He has vocally criticized Republican-led efforts to repeal the ACA as uncooperative.

Gun control

Schultz supports

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

and

universal background check A universal background check for guns is a policy that requires a background check for all gun sales or transfers, regardless of where they occur or who is involved. This includes sales at gun shows, private sales between individuals, and sales ...

s. In July 2013, Starbucks customers brought in their weapons and guns into local stores to show appreciation for the coffeehouse's support of the

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. Later in September, as CEO, Schultz asked customers to no longer bring guns into its stores.

Immigration

Schultz has supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who had entered the United States as children. He called for greater border security, but vocally opposed President Donald Trump's proposal of a border wall. In 2017, Schultz got into a highly publicized argument with President Trump after he instructed Starbucks to disregard an executive order barring

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

refugees into the country. Within 24 hours of the executive order, Schultz wrote to his employees that recent immigrants and refugees, particularly those with strong ties to the U.S. military, would be fast-tracked to employment. President Trump then called on his supporters to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

Starbucks.

Veterans' affairs

In 2015, Schultz founded Onward Veterans, a private foundation to help

post-9/11 The post-9/11 period is the time after the September 11 attacks, characterized by heightened suspicion of non-Americans in the United States, increased government efforts to address terrorism, and a more aggressive American foreign policy. Some ...

military veterans transition to civilian life. In 2014, Schultz authored his first non-business book, ''For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice'', co-written with

. The book discussed the U.S. military's role in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

, and their transitions back into civilian life. To market the book he expanded tuition support for veterans families. Over a radio interview in March 2019, when asked if he would be an effective commander-in-chief, Schultz responded: "I probably have spent more time in the last decade certainly than anyone running for president with the military." His comments were criticized by

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former naval officer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation, United States secretary of transportation from 2021 to 2025. A me ...

and

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and military officer serving as the director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence (DNI) since 2025. She has held the rank of Lieutenant colonel (United Stat ...

, both of whom served in the military, for being tone deaf. Schultz later apologized for his remarks. Schultz's tentative 2020 presidential candidacy was endorsed by former U.S. Army General Peter W. Chiarelli.

Washington state politics

In 2012, Schultz had Starbucks express support for

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

Referendum 74 Referendum 74 (R-74 or Ref 74) was a Washington state referendum to approve or reject the February 2012 bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. On June 12, 2012, state officials announced that enough signatures in favor of t ...

, which legalized

in that state. Schultz opposed Seattle's ordinance to raise the local minimum wage to $15, which at the time was the highest in the nation. The ordinance passed. From 2005 to 2019, he reportedly voted in 11 of 38 municipal elections. His voting record in Seattle has been described by ''

'' as a "pattern of ignoring many local elections over the decades." The paper reported in 2020 that while Schultz is heavily involved in the state's political debates, he often "doesn't show up to vote" in various municipal elections including that of the city's mayor and city council. Washington governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee ( ; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer who served from 2013 to 2025 as the 23rd governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012 as a ...

, who was running against Schultz in the 2020 election, criticized him for his absence in state politics. Congressman

George Nethercutt George Rector Nethercutt Jr. (October 7, 1944 – June 14, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he rose to national attention upon his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, wh ...

, a moderate Republican, opined that

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

"may like what they hear and vote for chultz more than the Western region.

Foreign policy

Schultz has been described as a foreign policy "

", favoring

politics domestically and aggressive, interventionist policies abroad. Generally, he is a supporter of neoliberal institutionalism and international cooperation. In line with this, Schultz advocates for a U.S.-centered unipolar world where countries work with America to ensure stability and peace. *United Kingdom: During the

2009 economic crisis The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, Schultz stated in a highly publicized interview with CNBC that "the place that concerns us the most is

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, and specifically the UK. The UK is in a spiral". His comments were meant to express concern with the levels of

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

and

consumer confidence Consumer confidence is an economic indicator that measures the degree of optimism that consumers feel about the overall state of the economy and their personal financial situation. If the consumer has confidence in the immediate and near future ...

in the United Kingdom. The British Business Secretary at the time,

Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, (born 21 October 1953) is a British politician, lobbyist and diplomat who has served as British Ambassador to the United States since February 2025. A member of the Labour Party, Mandelson serve ...

, responded negatively to the statement saying that "the UK was not spiralling, although I've noticed Starbucks is in a great deal of trouble." Mandelson later suggested that Schultz was projecting his own company's trouble in the United Kingdom onto the wider national economy. Starbucks issued an office apology soon thereafter. *Syria: Schultz criticized the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria in 2019, saying the move had "damaged America's relationships with foreign allies." Furthermore, Schultz lamented the "power vacuum" left by the U.S. in the Middle East as a result of their withdrawal. He supported the idea of leaving a skeletal army force in the region to ensure a minimum level of stability and U.S. influence. *Russia: He is a vocal opponent of Russian influence in U.S. politics, calling the country an “enemy of the United States.” *China: The commensurate rise of China in the international sphere with the U.S. prompted Schultz to call the country "neither an enemy nor an ally, but a fierce competitor." According to ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'', his corporate interests in Starbucks could make him implement pro-Chinese policies and legislation. Hedge fund manager

Bill Ackman William Albert Ackman (born May 11, 1966) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager who is the founder and chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company. His investment approach has made him ...

similarly said that Schultz's election to the U.S. presidency would essentially be an

insurance policy In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claim (legal), claims which the insurer is law, legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial ...

for Starbucks. "The last thing the Chinese would do is go after the next American president's company," Ackman told the ''New York Times'' in 2020. Schultz has repeatedly praised the country's One Belt Road initiative, an infrastructure plan aimed at better connecting territorial China and improving

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an ownership stake in a company, made by a foreign investor, company, or government from another country. More specifically, it describes a controlling ownership an asset in one country by an entity based i ...

. *Israel: Schultz was involved in a long-standing group chat from October 2023 through early May 2024 with some of the United States' most powerful business leaders with the stated goals of "chang ngthe narrative" in favor of Israel and "help ngwin the war" on U.S. public opinion following Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel. Group members included

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

founder and CEO

Michael Dell Michael Saul Dell (born February 23, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman and investor. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies. As of May 2025, accordin ...

, Kind snack company founder

Daniel Lubetzky Daniel Lubetzky (born 1968) is a Mexican and American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, author, and founder and executive chairman of snack company Kind LLC. Early life and education Daniel Lubetzky is the son of Sonia and Roman Lube ...

, hedge fund managers Daniel Loeb and

, billionaire

Len Blavatnik Sir Leonard Valentinovich Blavatnik ( Ukrainian: Леонард Валентинович Блаватник; born June 14, 1957) is a Soviet/Ukrainian-born British-American businessman and philanthropist. As of April 2025, ''Forbes'' estimated ...

, real estate investor

Joseph Sitt Joseph J. Sitt (born 1974) is an American real estate investor, founder of the retail chain Ashley Stewart, and founder of global real estate company Thor Equities. Early life and education Sitt was born in 1964 near Coney Island, Brooklyn

, and

Joshua Kushner Joshua Kushner (born June 12, 1985) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, co-founder and vice-chairman of Oscar Health, and the youngest son of the real estate ...

, the founder of

Thrive Capital Thrive Capital Management, LLC, commonly Thrive Capital, is an American venture capital firm based in New York City. It focuses on software and internet investments. The firm was founded by Joshua Kushner who is also co-founder of Oscar Health ...

and brother to

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is a son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in- ...

, president Donald Trump's son-in-law. The group also included non-American citizens, such as Cypriot-

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i billionaire real estate investor Yakir Gabay. Members of the group chat, including Schultz, discussed how they received private briefings by, and worked closely with, members of the

Israeli government The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government (also known as the cabinet). Legislat ...

, including former Israeli prime minister

Naftali Bennett Naftali Bennett (, ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician and businessman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the alternate prime minister from 1 July to 8 November 2022. Bennett was t ...

;

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...

, a member of the

Israeli war cabinet The Israeli war cabinet was formed on 11 October 2023, five days after the beginning of the Gaza war. The opposition party National Unity joined the thirty-seventh government led by Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister. Negotiations began up ...

; and Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog. Group members also held a video call in April 2024 with

New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...

in an effort to, according to reporting by

, "pressure Columbia’s president and trustees to permit the mayor to send police to the campus" to shut down

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the ...

of Israel's offensive military operations in Gaza, which many campus protesters, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, civil servants, and governments around the world have alleged to be genocide. During the video call, group members discussed making political donations to Adams. It is unknown whether Schultz was present on the video call. While Schultz confirmed his membership in the group and his presence at private briefings by Israeli officials, a spokesperson said he "did not participate in, or contribute financially to, any of the group's work."

Political elections

2012 presidential election

At the start of the

Schultz's name was floated as a potential Democratic candidate. After he instructed Starbucks employees in Washington to write "come together" on all cups to encourage

bipartisanship Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find c ...

in the federal government on December 26, press speculation intensified. However, Schultz "batted down" these reports days later and confirmed that he was not running for political office. He continued to publicly bemoan the political climate at the time, saying he was "not optimistic about the leadership" of the U.S. on national television. Papers continued to question the finality of his decision with ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' writing "We look forward to your 2016 campaign".

2016 presidential election

In late September and early August 2015, press speculation began to surface about a potential run in the upcoming

for Schultz.

Maureen Dowd Maureen Brigid Dowd (; born January 14, 1952) is an American columnist for ''The New York Times'' and an author. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Dowd worked for ''The Washington Star'' and ''Time'', writing news, sports and feature articles. ...

, of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', broke a story on August 1 that friends of "America's lord of latte, Howard Schultz, have been pressing him to join the Democratic primary." Over the next couple of days media outlets began to speculate if Schultz was going to make a formal announcement. According to ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

'', he was positioned to be a "worthy party back-up to illaryClinton." Schultz wrote a ''New York Times'' op-ed on August 6, 2015, denying this, stating, "Despite the encouragement of others, I have no intention of entering the presidential fray. I'm not done serving Starbucks." Newspapers such as ''The Atlantic'', billed Schultz as the "liberal Donald Trump" due to his comparable career as a businessman and wealth.

2020 presidential election

After Schultz stepped down from Starbucks in 2018, political commentators speculated whether he would run in the

. There was additional encouragement from a draft movement called Ready for Schultz. He hired Steve Schmidt and Bill Burton, two political consultants, to assess his candidacy. On January 27, 2019, he stated in an interview with ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' that he was exploring a run for president as an independent candidate, and that he considered running as a centrist. He was reportedly willing to spend $300 to $500 million on the 2020 election. Schultz's proposed independent candidacy was widely condemned by Democrats who argued that Schultz's third-party candidacy would help to re-elect President Trump by splitting the vote of those opposed to the president. Political scientist

Larry Sabato Larry Joseph Sabato (; born August 7, 1952) is an American political scientist and political analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, where he is also the founder and director of the Center for ...

said that Schultz's candidacy was likely to benefit Trump. However, a ''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

'' analysis believed that "running on a deficit-reduction platform might end up syphoning as many Republican moderates away from Trump as liberals or independents away from the Democratic nominee." In response to claims that his candidacy would benefit Trump, Schultz said, "Nobody wants to see Donald Trump removed from office more than me." His first town hall in

received mixed reception with protestors holding up "venti mistake" and "grande ego" banners while his actual speech was well received. As a large shareholder of Starbucks stock, Schultz was repeatedly asked about potentially selling all of his holdings if elected to the White House. "There's multiple ways to do this, set up a

blind trust A blind trust is a trust in which the beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the trust, and no right to intervene in their handling. In a blind trust, the trustees ( fiduciaries, or those who have been given power of attorney) have f ...

, do lots of things to remove any conflict of interest" he replied. He had, however, promised to release all of his

tax return A tax return is a form on which a person or organization presents an account of income and circumstances, used by the tax authorities to determine liability for tax. Tax returns are usually processed by each country's tax authority, known as ...

s if elected. Later in February, Schultz said he would stay out of the race if the Democrats nominated "a centrist Democrat." In May 2019, Schultz delayed his decision and by September 6, officially ruled out a presidential run, stating that it wasn't the best way to "serve our country at this time." The eventual progression of candidate

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

as the presumptive nominee motivated Schultz to step aside due to their overlapping political ideologies. While he had not officially endorsed Biden for the presidency at the time, Schultz had stated in interviews that he "admires" the candidate. However, on September 14, 2020, Schultz endorsed Biden, and called on Americans to vote for Biden "for the future of our republic".

Personal life

In 1982, Schultz married Sheri Kersch, with whom he has two children. His son, Jordan, is a sports analyst and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

insider currently working for

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

. They live in Seattle's Madison Park neighborhood, having previously lived near Madrona. Schultz is a noted coffee aficionado, reportedly drinking four to five cups of coffee every day.

Wealth

Schultz was named the 209th-richest person in the U.S. in October 2020 by ''Forbes'' with a

of $4.3 billion. His exploration of running for political office has prompted calls for him to sell all of his stock holdings in Starbucks to appease any

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

. Although not firmly committing to sell his shares upon election, Schultz has expressed interest in setting up a

to hold his shares. However, ''

'' noted that even if in a blind trust, his interest in the shares could still prompt a conflict of interest because the shares' performance is linked with the company's performance. In 1998, Schultz established

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm

Maveron Maveron is an American venture capital firm that invests in consumer-only and early-stage companies, with offices in Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California. The firm was co-founded by Dan Levitan and former Starbucks chief executive ...

with investment banker

Dan Levitan Dan Levitan is a former investment banker turned venture capital investor. He is co-founding partner at Maveron, which invests in consumer-only businesses centered on technology-enabled products and services in commerce, education, and health and ...

. He and Levitan primarily invest in start-up companies and

seeding The term seeding and related terms such as seeded are used in several different contexts: *Sowing, planting seeds in a place or on an object *Cloud seeding, manipulating cloud formations *Seeding (computing), a concept in computing and peer-to-pee ...

consumer-focused companies, such as

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

Shutterfly Shutterfly, LLC. is an American photography, photography products, and image sharing company, headquartered in San Jose, California. The company is mainly known for custom photo printing services, including books featuring user-provided images, ...

, and

Zulily Zulily is an American e-commerce website with operations headquartered in Midvale, Utah. Its target audience are young mothers interested in brand-name goods for their children. Months after its website closed, all of Zulily's intellectual prope ...

. As of July 2014, the venture capital firm was worth $1.3 billion in

assets under management In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...

(AUM). As of July 2022, Schultz's net worth is

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

3.9 billion. Schultz is the owner of 'PI', a 77-metre luxury

superyacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...

built by

Feadship Feadship (First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders) is a cooperative venture between two shipyards: Royal Van Lent Shipyard and Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw. Feadship designs and constructs high-end luxury yachts and is one of the leadi ...

for $120 million.

Philanthropy

In 1996, Howard and Sheri Schultz co-founded the Schultz Family Foundation, which supports Onward Youth, aimed at promoting employment for young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not in school and not working, and Onward Veterans, which is poised to help

military veterans to successfully transition to civilian life.

Awards and honors

In 1998, Schultz received the 'Israel 50th Anniversary Tribute Award' for "playing a key role in promoting a close alliance between the United States and Israel". In 1999 AIDs Action awarded Schultz the National Leadership Award for philanthropic and educational efforts to battle AIDS. Schultz was named ''

'' magazine's 2011 "Businessperson of the Year" for his initiatives in the economy and job market. ''Fortune'' went on to list him as the most generous CEO of 2015, for Starbucks' healthcare coverage, educational opportunities, and employee stock options. Schultz spoke at the 2017

commencement ceremony and was presented with an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctor of humane letters degree. In November 2017, the

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...

presented Schultz with the National Equal Justice Award.

Books

* * * *

References

External links

Schultz Family Foundation

How starbucks became 100b success story
*
How I Built This – Live Episode! Starbucks: Howard Schultz
(audio interview) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Howard 1953 births American Ashkenazi Jews American billionaires American business writers American chairpersons of corporations American chief executives of food industry companies American financial company founders American financiers American male non-fiction writers Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Seattle Businesspeople in coffee Canarsie High School alumni Coffee in Seattle Directors of Starbucks Jewish American activists Jewish American non-fiction writers American LGBTQ rights activists Living people New York (state) independents Northern Michigan University alumni People from Canarsie, Brooklyn Seattle Storm owners Seattle SuperSonics owners Starbucks people Washington (state) independents Women's National Basketball Association executives Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Seattle American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent 21st-century American Jews Jewish American basketball people Jewish American sports executives and administrators American Zionists

Early life and education

Career

Early career

Starbucks

Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm

Author

Political views

Labor unions

Climate change

Bipartisanship

Fiscal discipline

Trade

Business

Tax reform

Same-sex marriage

Healthcare

Gun control

Immigration

Veterans' affairs

Washington state politics

Foreign policy

Political elections

2012 presidential election

2016 presidential election

2020 presidential election

Personal life

Wealth

Philanthropy

Awards and honors

Books

See also

References

External links