Howard Schultz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Howard Schultz
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Schultz in 2019
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| Born | July 19, 1953 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Northern Michigan University (BA) |
| Occupation | |
| Known for | Leadership of Starbucks and co-ownership of Seattle SuperSonics |
| Term | 1986–2000 2008–2017 2022–2023 (as interim CEO) |
| Predecessor | Jim Donald (second term) Kevin Johnson (third term) |
| Successor | Orin C. Smith (first term) Kevin Johnson (second term) Laxman Narasimhan (third term) |
| Political party | Independent (2019–present) |
| Spouse(s) |
Sheri Kersch
(m. 1982) |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | |
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Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author. He is best known for leading the coffee company Starbucks. He was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Starbucks for three different periods: from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and as an interim CEO from 2022 to 2023. Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team from 2001 to 2006.
Schultz started working at Starbucks in 1982. He later left to open his own coffee shop called Il Giornale. This shop later joined with Starbucks in the late 1980s. Under Schultz's leadership, Starbucks grew into a huge company with many stores around the world. This growth changed how people enjoy coffee in places like Seattle and beyond. Starbucks became the largest coffee-house chain globally. Schultz made Starbucks a public company in 1992, which helped it grow even more. He stepped down as CEO in 2000. People have compared his impact on coffee to Ray Kroc's impact on McDonald's.
During the financial crisis in 2008, Schultz returned as CEO. He made big changes, including closing many stores and retraining employees. He also helped Starbucks buy other drink companies and started a national loyalty program. He made sure Starbucks used fair trade coffee, which means farmers get a fair price. His efforts helped coffee become popular in China, a country known for its tea culture. Schultz left the CEO role again in 2017.
Schultz has written four books about business. He has also thought about running for U.S. president as an independent candidate in 2012, 2016, and 2020, but he decided not to. He supports ideas that are socially liberal and fiscally moderate. Forbes magazine listed him as the 209th-richest person in the U.S. in 2020, with a net worth of $4.3 billion. Schultz also started the Schultz Family Foundation to help military veterans and young people find jobs.
In March 2022, Schultz returned as interim CEO of Starbucks when the previous CEO retired. He stayed in this role until April 2023.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Howard D. Schultz was born on July 19, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York. His parents, Fred and Elaine Schultz, were Ashkenazi Jewish. His father was a truck driver, and his mother was a receptionist. Howard grew up in public housing projects in Canarsie. He has two siblings. Schultz has said his family was poor, but some people who knew him as a child remember his upbringing as middle-class.
After school, Schultz spent his time at the Boys Club of New York. He is still involved with the Boys’ Club of New York's alumni group.
Schultz graduated from Canarsie High School in 1971. He then went to Northern Michigan University (NMU) from 1971 to 1975. He was part of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He earned a B.A. degree in communications. He had hoped to play football with a scholarship, but an injury made him stop.
Career at Starbucks
Starting Out
In 1976, Schultz began his career as a salesman for Xerox in New York. In 1979, he became a general manager for Hammarplast, a Swedish kitchenware company's U.S. branch. While working there, he was in charge of their coffee machine business in the U.S. In 1981, he visited the Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle to order plastic cone filters.
Joining and Growing Starbucks
In 1982, when he was 29, Schultz was hired by Starbucks. He became the director of retail operations and marketing. During a trip to Milan, Italy, in 1983, Schultz saw how popular coffee bars were. He was inspired to bring this idea back to Starbucks. He tried to convince the owners, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, to sell espresso drinks. They were interested but worried about the cost and if Americans would like it.
Schultz decided to leave Starbucks in 1985 to start his own coffee shop. He needed $400,000 to begin. He visited over 500 espresso bars in Milan to learn more. Starbucks invested $150,000 in his new business. Other investors also helped. In 1986, he raised enough money to open his first store, called Il Giornale. It was named after a newspaper in Milan. The shop sold coffee and ice cream, had little seating, and played opera music.
Two years later, the original Starbucks owners decided to sell their retail stores. Schultz and Il Giornale bought them for $3.8 million. Schultz then changed Il Giornale to the Starbucks name. He began to expand Starbucks across the United States. He believed that Starbucks should own all its stores, not use franchising. Schultz's idea of Starbucks as a social place helped create a new coffee culture in the U.S., especially in Seattle.
On June 26, 1992, Starbucks became a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold on the stock market. This helped the company raise $271 million and double its number of stores. On June 1, 2000, Schultz stepped down as CEO. He took on a new role to help Starbucks grow internationally. He focused on expanding in China, opening many stores there.
Returning as CEO
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On January 7, 2008, Schultz returned as CEO of Starbucks. This was during the financial crisis. He made big changes, including closing hundreds of stores and temporarily shutting all U.S. locations to retrain employees. He also made sure Starbucks bought more fair trade coffee. This means the coffee beans are sourced ethically, and farmers get a fair price. He also helped create the Starbucks College Achievement Plan in 2014. This program allows employees working 20 or more hours a week to get free tuition for online courses at Arizona State University.
Schultz stepped down as CEO again in December 2016. He became the executive chairman. From 2008 to 2017, he helped the company's value grow by nearly $100 billion. By the time he retired from active management in June 2018, Starbucks had grown from 11 coffeehouses in Seattle to 28,000 stores in 77 countries. He returned as interim CEO in March 2022 and stepped down in March 2023.
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Owning Sports Teams
Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm
In January 2001, Schultz led a group of investors who bought the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics and the Women's National Basketball Association's Seattle Storm. They paid $200 million for the teams. During his time as owner, some people criticized him for running the team too much like a business.
In 2006, Schultz said the SuperSonics needed $200 million to fix up their arena or build a new one. If the state government didn't approve this, he would sell or move the team. On July 18, 2006, Schultz sold the team to a group from Oklahoma City for $350 million. He had not been able to convince Seattle to help pay for a new arena.
The new owners moved the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008, and the team became the Oklahoma City Thunder. This sale made Schultz very unpopular in Seattle. Many people felt he was responsible for the team leaving. Ten years later, in 2019, Schultz said he was truly sorry for selling the team. He said it was one of his biggest regrets.
Author
Schultz has written four books. Three of them are about business and his experiences. His books often mix personal stories with ideas about how companies should be responsible to society. In 2019, Schultz also started an online class on MasterClass about business leadership, based on his books.
His first book, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, was published in 1997. His second book, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul, came out in 2011. This book talked about how Starbucks dealt with challenges. All the money from this book went to the Starbucks Foundation, the company's charity.
His third book, For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice, was published in 2014. It was co-written with Rajiv Chandrasekaran. This book focused on military veterans and their return to civilian life. The New York Times Book Review called it "well-written" and "formidable."
In 2019, he published his fourth book, From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America. This book was seen by many as a way for him to share his ideas before the 2020 United States presidential election.
Political Views
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Howard Schultz is a political independent. He is known for his centrist views. His political ideas are often similar to the Democratic Party. He supports free trade, a balanced budget, and changes to the tax system. He also supports gun control and same-sex marriage.
Schultz has supported Democratic presidential candidates like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the past. Since 2012, there has been talk that he might run for President of the United States.
Labor Unions
Schultz has had disagreements with labor unions at Starbucks. He believes that if he leads well and listens to employees, they won't need a union. In 2009, he worked with other CEOs to change a proposed law that would make it easier for unions to form.
When union efforts started again at Starbucks in 2022, Schultz said the company was "under assault from unionization." He believes Starbucks does not need a middleman between management and employees. There have been disagreements about how Starbucks has handled these unionizing efforts.
Climate Change
Schultz has spoken about how climate change affects coffee production. He was against the U.S. leaving the Paris Agreement, which is an international agreement on climate change. He supports taxing oil and gas and using wind energy to help the environment.
Working Together in Politics
In 2012, Schultz encouraged people to work together in politics. He asked Starbucks employees in Washington to write "come together" on coffee cups. This was to encourage politicians to cooperate. If he were elected president, Schultz said he would only pass laws with support from both major political parties.
Government Spending
Schultz does not like government debt. He believes the national debt is a big threat to the country. He thinks the government needs to control its spending.
Trade
Schultz has been critical of the trade war between the U.S. and China. He believes there should be fewer tariffs (taxes on imported goods).
He has also worked to increase the amount of fair trade coffee Starbucks buys. By 2015, almost all of Starbucks' coffee was fair trade. This helps ensure coffee farmers are paid fairly.
Business and Taxes
Schultz supports the free market. He believes that businesses and capitalism are sometimes unfairly criticized in America. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he suggested the government should provide more financial help to small businesses.
He supports "comprehensive tax reform." He has said he is against very high taxes on the wealthiest people, but also against lowering taxes too much for large corporations. He prefers tax cuts for middle-sized and small businesses.
Healthcare
Under Schultz's leadership, Starbucks was one of the first U.S. companies to offer healthcare benefits to part-time workers. He is against a government-run healthcare system for everyone. He has also criticized efforts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Gun Control
Schultz supports gun control and universal background checks for buying guns. In 2013, he asked customers not to bring guns into Starbucks stores, even though some customers had done so to show support for gun rights.
Immigration
Schultz supports a way for immigrants who came to the U.S. as children without permission to become citizens. He also wants stronger border security. However, he was against President Donald Trump's idea of building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2017, he told Starbucks employees that the company would help refugees, especially those with ties to the U.S. military, find jobs.
Veterans' Affairs
In 2015, Schultz started Onward Veterans, a foundation to help military veterans who served after 9/11 adjust to civilian life. His 2014 book, For Love of Country, also focused on veterans. He has expanded tuition support for veterans' families.
Political Elections
2012 Presidential Election
In 2012, some people thought Schultz might run for president as a Democrat. He told Starbucks employees to write "come together" on cups to encourage political cooperation. However, he later said he was not running for office.
2016 Presidential Election
In 2015, there was more talk about Schultz running for president in 2016. Some thought he could be a good backup candidate for Hillary Clinton. But Schultz wrote an article saying he had no plans to run.
2020 Presidential Election
After leaving Starbucks in 2018, many wondered if Schultz would run for president in 2020. He said he was thinking about running as an independent candidate. He was willing to spend a lot of his own money on the campaign. Many Democrats were worried that his independent run would take votes away from the Democratic candidate, which could help President Trump win again. Schultz said he wanted to see Donald Trump removed from office more than anyone.
In September 2019, Schultz officially decided not to run for president. He felt it wasn't the best way to help the country at that time. He later supported Joe Biden for president.
Personal Life
In 1982, Howard Schultz married Sheri Kersch. They have two children. Their son, Jordan, is a sports analyst. The family lives in Seattle. Schultz is a big coffee fan and reportedly drinks four to five cups every day.
Wealth and Investments
In October 2020, Forbes magazine estimated Schultz's net worth at $4.3 billion. He is a very wealthy person. In 1998, Schultz started a venture capital firm called Maveron with an investment banker named Dan Levitan. This firm invests in new companies, especially those that focus on consumers, like eBay.
Schultz also owns a large luxury superyacht called 'PI', which cost $120 million.
Giving Back
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In 1996, Howard and Sheri Schultz started the Schultz Family Foundation. This foundation helps young people find jobs through a program called Onward Youth. It also helps military veterans who served after 9/11 adjust to civilian life through a program called Onward Veterans.
Awards and Honors
Schultz has received many awards for his work and his giving. In 1998, he received the 'Israel 50th Anniversary Tribute Award'. In 1999, he was given the National Leadership Award for his efforts to fight AIDS. Fortune magazine named him "Businessperson of the Year" in 2011. In 2015, Fortune also called him the most generous CEO because of Starbucks' healthcare, education, and stock options for employees.
In 2017, he received an honorary degree from Arizona State University. In November 2017, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund gave him the National Equal Justice Award.
Books
- Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time (1997)
- Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul (2011)
- For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice (2014)
- From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America (2019)
Images for kids
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Schultz in 2019
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Howard Schultz's signature
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Schultz, as chairman emeritus of Starbucks, in 2019
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Howard Schultz presidential campaign logo, designed in 2019
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Schultz being interviewed in 2020
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See also
In Spanish: Howard Schultz para niños
- History of Starbucks
- List of Northern Michigan University alumni
- List of Forbes' World Billionaires
