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 Starbucks, a famous coffee company. He was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Starbucks for several 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 other countries. 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.
Schultz returned as CEO in 2008 during a tough economic time. He made big changes, closing many stores and retraining employees. He also helped Starbucks buy other drink companies and started a national customer loyalty program. He made sure Starbucks used fair trade coffee, which helps farmers get a fair price. His efforts helped Starbucks grow a lot in China. Schultz left his CEO role in 2017 and retired from active management in 2018. However, he returned as interim CEO in March 2022 and stepped down again in March 2023.
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 decided not to. He supports ideas that are socially liberal and careful with government spending. In 2020, Forbes magazine listed him as the 209th-richest person in the U.S., with a net worth of $4.3 billion. Schultz also started the Schultz Family Foundation to help military veterans and young people find jobs.
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 Jewish. His father worked as a truck driver, and his mother was a receptionist. Howard grew up with two siblings in a public housing complex in Canarsie. He spent his time after school at the Boys Club of New York.
Schultz finished Canarsie High School in 1971. He then went to Northern Michigan University (NMU) from 1971 to 1975. He studied communications and was part of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He had hoped to play football with a scholarship, but an injury made him stop.
Career Highlights
Starting His Career
In 1976, Howard 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, in the U.S. While working there, he visited the Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle in 1981 to order coffee filters. This visit was his first introduction to Starbucks.
Growing Starbucks
In 1982, when he was 29, Schultz was hired at Starbucks as the director of retail operations and marketing. During a trip to Milan, Italy, in 1983, Schultz was inspired by the coffee culture there. He saw how Italian coffee shops served espresso drinks and became social gathering places.
When he returned, he tried to convince Starbucks owners, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, to offer espresso drinks. They were interested but worried about the cost and whether Americans would like espresso. So, Schultz decided to start his own business.
He left Starbucks in 1985 to open his own coffee shop. He needed $400,000 to start. Starbucks invested $150,000 in his new idea. In 1986, he opened his first store, Il Giornale, named after a Milanese newspaper. It sold coffee and ice cream and played opera music.
Two years later, the original Starbucks owners decided to sell their retail stores. Schultz and Il Giornale bought the Starbucks retail unit for $3.8 million. Schultz then changed Il Giornale's name to Starbucks and began to expand it across the United States. He believed Starbucks stores should be owned by the company, not franchised.
Schultz's vision helped Starbucks become a popular social spot. On June 26, 1992, Starbucks became a public company, which 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 to focus on expanding Starbucks internationally. He was replaced by Orin Smith. Schultz helped open the first Starbucks in China in 1999 and worked to build a customer base there. Starbucks planned to open one to two stores a day in mainland China.
Back in the U.S., Starbucks faced competition from companies like McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts. This caused Starbucks' stock price to drop significantly between 2006 and 2008.
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On January 7, 2008, Schultz returned as CEO during a difficult economic period. He made tough decisions, including closing hundreds of stores and temporarily shutting all U.S. locations to retrain employees. He also strengthened the company's commitment to fair trade and ethical sourcing for its coffee beans. He doubled the amount of fair trade coffee Starbucks bought.
Schultz stepped down as CEO again in December 2016, becoming executive chairman. From 2008 to 2017, Starbucks' value increased by nearly $100 billion. By the time he retired from active management in 2018, Starbucks had grown from 11 coffeehouses in Seattle to 28,000 stores in 77 countries.
In March 2022, Schultz returned as interim CEO after Kevin Johnson retired. He stepped down from this role on March 20, 2023, just before Laxman Narasimhan took over as the new CEO.
Owning Sports Teams
In January 2001, Schultz led a group of ten investors who bought the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics and the Women's National Basketball Association's Seattle Storm for $200 million. During his time as the SuperSonics owner, some people criticized him for running the team too much like a business.
In 2006, Schultz said the SuperSonics needed $200 million to improve 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 Clay Bennett's group from Oklahoma City for $350 million. This happened after he couldn't convince Seattle to provide public money for a new arena.
The new owners moved the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008, where they became the Oklahoma City Thunder. This sale made Schultz unpopular in Seattle. In a local newspaper poll, he was seen as "most responsible" for the team leaving. Ten years later, in 2019, Schultz said he fully regretted selling the team. He stated, "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
Howard Schultz has written four books, mostly about business and his experiences. His books often combine his personal story with ideas about how companies should be responsible to society. In 2019, Schultz also offered an online class about business leadership.
His first book, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, was written in 1997. His second book, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul, was published in 2011. This book talked about Starbucks' challenges and how they overcame them.
His third book, For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice, was published in 2014. This book focused on military veterans and their return to civilian life. It was praised by critics and added to The New York Times Winter Reading List.
In 2019, he published his fourth book, From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America. This book was released when he was thinking about running for president. It became a bestseller on The Wall Street Journal and New York Times lists.
Political Views
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Howard Schultz is an independent in politics. His political ideas are often similar to those of the Democratic Party. He supports free trade, a balanced government budget, changes to tax laws, 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 himself.
Views on Labor Unions
Howard Schultz has generally not supported the formation of labor unions at Starbucks. He believes that under his leadership, employees would feel heard and wouldn't need a union.
In 2009, when a bill was proposed to make it easier for unions to form, Schultz, along with other CEOs, worked to remove parts of the bill. In 2022, when Starbucks employees started forming unions, Schultz said the company was "under assault from unionization." Starbucks has faced accusations of firing employees who tried to unionize.
In March 2023, Schultz testified before a U.S. Senate committee. He stated that he supports the law but denied that he or Starbucks were "union busters." He also said he would not follow a judge's ruling that Starbucks had acted improperly against union efforts in Buffalo, New York, because he believed Starbucks had not broken the law.
Views on Climate Change
As CEO of Starbucks, Schultz has talked about how climate change affects coffee production. He did not support the United States leaving the Paris Agreement, which is an international agreement to fight climate change. He has suggested taxing oil and gas and using wind energy to help the environment.
Working Together in Politics
In December 2012, Schultz asked Starbucks employees in Washington to write "come together" on coffee cups. This was to encourage politicians in Washington D.C. to work together. During his time considering a presidential run in 2020, Schultz said that if elected, he would only pass laws with support from both major political parties.
Views on Government Spending
Schultz is careful about government spending and dislikes debt. He has said that the national debt is a big threat to the country. He believes the government needs to control its spending.
Views on Trade
Schultz has criticized the U.S. trade war against China. He has called for fewer taxes on imports and exports.
He has also strongly supported fair trade coffee. By 2015, almost all of Starbucks' coffee was fair trade. This means farmers get a fair price for their coffee beans. Starbucks also made an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to ensure farmers were paid more.
Views on Business and Taxes
Schultz supports the free market. He believes that businesses and capitalism are sometimes unfairly criticized in American society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he suggested that 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, calling them "punitive." He also opposed tax cuts for large corporations, preferring tax cuts for smaller and medium-sized businesses.
Views on Healthcare
Under Schultz's leadership, Starbucks was one of the first U.S. companies to offer healthcare benefits to part-time workers, like baristas. He is against a government-run healthcare system for everyone. He has also criticized efforts to remove the Affordable Care Act.
Views on Gun Control
Schultz supports gun control and requiring background checks for all gun sales. In 2013, after some customers brought guns into Starbucks stores to support gun rights, Schultz asked customers not to bring guns into stores anymore.
Views on 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 but opposed building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2017, he publicly disagreed with President Donald Trump's order to ban Syrian refugees. Schultz told Starbucks employees that recent immigrants and refugees, especially those with ties to the U.S. military, would be given priority for jobs.
Supporting Veterans
In 2015, Schultz started Onward Veterans, a private foundation. It helps military veterans who served after 9/11 adjust to civilian life. In 2014, he wrote a book about veterans called For Love of Country. He also expanded tuition support for veterans' families.
Political Elections
2012 Presidential Election
In 2012, there was talk that Schultz might run for president as a Democratic candidate. This talk grew after he asked Starbucks employees to write "come together" on coffee cups to encourage political cooperation. However, Schultz quickly said he was not running for political office.
2016 Presidential Election
In 2015, rumors again started that Schultz might run for president in 2016. Some people thought he could be a strong backup candidate for Hillary Clinton. However, Schultz wrote an article in The New York Times saying he had no plans to run, stating, "I'm not done serving Starbucks."
2020 Presidential Election
After Schultz left Starbucks in 2018, many people wondered if he would run for president in 2020. He hired political advisors to help him decide. On January 27, 2019, he said in an interview that he was thinking about running as an independent candidate, focusing on centrist ideas. He was reportedly willing to spend a lot of his own money on the election.
Many Democrats worried that his independent candidacy would take votes away from the Democratic nominee, which could help Donald Trump win re-election. Schultz responded by saying, "Nobody wants to see Donald Trump removed from office more than me." His first public meeting in Seattle received mixed reactions, with some protesters but also positive responses to his speech.
In February 2019, Schultz said he would not run if the Democrats nominated a "centrist Democrat." On September 6, he officially decided not to run for president. He felt it wasn't the best way to help the country at that time. He later endorsed Joe Biden for president in September 2020.
Personal Life
Howard Schultz married Sheri Kersch in 1982. They have two children. Their son, Jordan, is a sports analyst. The family lives in Seattle. Schultz is known for loving coffee and reportedly drinks four to five cups every day.
Wealth and Investments
In October 2020, Forbes magazine listed Schultz as the 209th-richest person in the U.S., with a net worth of $4.3 billion. He has a venture capital firm called Maveron, which he started in 1998 with Dan Levitan. This firm invests in new companies, especially those focused on consumers, like eBay and Shutterfly. As of July 2022, Schultz's net worth was $3.9 billion.
Schultz also owns a large luxury yacht called 'PI', which is 77 meters long and 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 aged 16 to 24 who are not in school or working, and it also helps military veterans who served after 9/11 transition to civilian life.
After the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, the Schultz Family Foundation released a statement saying they would support efforts to address trauma and humanitarian needs. Starbucks also clarified that Schultz and the company had never sent profits to the Israeli government or army.
Awards and Recognition
In 1998, Schultz received an award for helping to build a strong relationship between the United States and Israel. In 1999, he received a National Leadership Award for his work against AIDS. Fortune magazine named him "Businessperson of the Year" in 2011. In 2015, Fortune also called him the most generous CEO for Starbucks' healthcare coverage, education opportunities, and employee stock options.
In 2017, Schultz received an honorary degree from Arizona State University. In November 2017, he was given 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)
See also
In Spanish: Howard Schultz para niños
- History of Starbucks
- List of Northern Michigan University alumni
- List of Forbes' World Billionaires
