Who is Howard Schultz?
Howard Schultz is not a name that rings the bell in a lot of people’s heads. However, he is the owner of a well-known coffee house company in which many people worldwide have been to or heard of – which is Starbucks. Howard has a net worth of around $4B, which is not too surprising given the success of the company. However, his path to success was not as simple as going to college, getting a business or entrepreneurial degree, and then start brainstorming company ideas. He had to overcome extreme adversity to get to where he is now.
The Schultz American Dream
Howard was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised with two other siblings by two parents who worked around the clock to make ends meet (Wikipedia, 2024, par. 4). The whole family lived in a one-bedroom apartment in a public housing project in which they all pitched in financially. Howard even went to the extent of regularly donating plasma just to make a few extra dollars for his family (Inspire Yourself, 2020, 2:21). That said, he was not comfortable living this lifestyle and wanted to defeat this negative precedence set by his family. He worked around the clock, and with sports and education combined, he was able to get a scholarship to Michigan State University and graduated with a B.A. in communications. During college, he had worked at various coffee shops. Towards the end of his academia, the shop he worked at merged with an already established Starbucks. From there, the duty of turning the company around was all thrown on his shoulders. After many long, devastating hours and an extensive amount of commitment and courage, the company started to thrive. After many years, the company slowly developed into what it is today – a $100B company. Schultz had to overcome adversity, do whatever it took to make ends meet for him and his family, and climb the ladder to success in order to accomplish his American Dream.
References:
Inspire Yourself. (December 5, 2020). How Starbucks Became a $100B Success Story | Howard Schultz | From Poor Boy to Billionaire. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9UYbJ2xMTI
Wikipedia. (2024). Howard Schultz. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Schultz