Howard Schultz

Early life

Howard D. Schultz was born on July 19, 1953, to Ashkenazi Jewish parents, Fred and Elaine Schultz, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a truck driver, and his mother was a receptionist. Howard has two siblings. Schultz grew up in the Canarsie public housing 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 in 1971. He attended Northern Michigan University (NMU) from 1971 to 1975, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, graduating with a B.A. in communications. He had played football, expecting an athletic scholarship but an injury caused him to quit.

The fortune

Schultz was named the 209th-richest person in the U.S. in October 2020 by Forbes with a net worth 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. Although not firmly committing to sell his shares upon election, Schultz has expressed interest in setting up a blind trust to hold his shares. However, Foreign Policy 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 firm Maveron with investment banker Dan Levitan. He and Levitan primarily invest in start-up companies and seeding consumer-focused companies, such as eBay, Shutterfly, and Zulily. As of July 2014, the venture capital firm was worth $1.3 billion in assets under management (AUM). As of July 2022, Schultz's net worth is US$3.9 billion. Schultz is the owner of 'PI', a 77-metre luxury superyacht built by Feadship for $120 million.

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 post-9/11 military veterans to successfully transition to civilian life. After the October 7th 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas, the Schultz foundation released a press release on the 13th of October stating that "we join millions around the world who will not remain silent bystanders to evil" and that "More will follow, including support to address the trauma and humanitarian needs that are unfolding". Later on 26 October 2023 Starbucks released another press release further clarifying Schultz and the company's position. The press release stated that Schultz and the company had never sent profits to the Israeli government or army. It did not discuss the Schultz foundation.

Career

In 1976, he became a salesman for Xerox in New York. In 1979, he was recruited by French private equity firm PAI Partners 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.

Schultz claims to be a supporter of the free market. In 2020 he described the treatment of business and capitalism by American society as "vilification". During the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19), advocated for fiscal stimulus to small businesses harmed during the crisis. Schultz described the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act as insufficient, and criticized the Act's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for being a temporary solution. On April 21, he called for the federal government to institute a "Marshall Plan" for small business, in the form of federally-backed loans.

Personal life

Starbucks took an institutional stance in favor of same-sex marriage 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 The Washington Post stating: "Schultz [did] something CEOs rarely do: He told off a shareholder." Fortune wrote that Schultz "[took] on gay marriage before it was a topic most executives would even touch."

In 1982, Schultz married Sheri Kersch, with whom he has two children. His son, Jordan, is a sports analyst and NFL insider currently working for Bleacher Report. 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.