Howard Schultz is an American businessman best known for transforming Starbucks from a small Seattle coffee chain into a global coffee powerhouse. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1953, Schultz grew up in a low-income family and later attended Northern Michigan University on a football scholarship. He joined Starbucks in 1982 as the director of retail operations and marketing, inspired by his visit to Italian espresso bars. Schultz envisioned creating a “third place” between home and work where pe

Howard Schultz helped transform Starbucks from a small Seattle coffee roaster into a global brand synonymous with modern coffee culture. After joining the company in 1987, Schultz acquired Starbucks for $3.8 million and spent decades scaling it into a lifestyle-driven business. By the time he stepped down as interim CEO in 2023, Starbucks had grown to more than 38,000 stores worldwide. His wealth is estimated around $3.2 billion in 2025 which came largely from equity ownership and a strategy tha