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How does Starbucks "Coffee Empire" rise? Start from scratch to $77 billion

Published: 2026-05-14 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/05/14, According to the latest data from wealth intelligence firm Wealth-X, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz currently has a net worth of $2.3 billion. From self-made to coffee empire builder, Schultz said he was just running when others stopped to rest. Howard Schultz was born into a Jewish working family in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York. mother

According to the latest data from wealth intelligence firm Wealth-X, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz currently has a net worth of $2.3 billion. From self-made to coffee empire builder, Schultz said he was just running when others stopped to rest.

Howard Schultz was born into a Jewish working family in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York. Mother Elaine is a full-time housewife (later a receptionist) and her father Fred is a blue-collar worker who has done a lot of work: truck driver, factory worker, taxi driver, etc.

After graduating from college, Schultz found a job in the sales training program of Xerox, which has accumulated a wealth of sales experience for him. Five years later, he moved to Hammarplast, a subsidiary of Perstorp, a Swedish company, mainly selling household items such as drip coffee pots. It wasn't long before Schultz was promoted to vice president and general manager, leading a sales team. The picture shows Starbucks going public in 1992.

In 1961, when Schultz was seven years old, his father, Fred, broke his ankle while driving a truck to transport diapers. At that time, Fred had neither medical insurance nor work-related injury compensation, and the whole family lost its source of income. He never forgot his father lying on the sofa with a cast on his leg. To some extent, Schultz's later great success was to pay homage to his father.

While Schultz was working at Hammarplast, Starbucks had four stores in Seattle. Once Starbucks ordered a large number of drip coffee pots from Hammarplast, which attracted the attention of Schultz. Out of curiosity, Schultz came to Seattle to meet with Starbucks owners Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker at the time. The picture shows the first Starbucks in history, which opened in 1971 and is located in Park Market in Seattle.

He was shocked by the founder's entrepreneurial passion and courage, because Starbucks is so small that it can only attract a small number of gourmets and coffee lovers. If you join Starbucks, you will have to change jobs and your income will plummet. Schultz is convinced that this is the right decision. It took him a year to convince Baldwin to hire him as marketing director. From left: Starbucks founders Zev Siegl,Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker.

Schultz's career and Starbucks' fate changed at the same time when he was sent to the Milan International goods and Household Fair. When I was in Milan, I came across several espresso bars, and the shopkeeper knew clearly the names and preferences of his customers, providing them with cappuccinos, coffee lattes and so on. Schultz understands that coffee has a human relationship with people, not just a coffee shop. This is the so-called flash of inspiration.

In 1985, Schultz left Starbucks to start his own coffee shop, Il Giornale. During his two years away from Starbucks, he copied his understanding of Italian coffee culture to Il Giornale. Il Giornale quickly became popular among consumers. In 1987, Il Giornale acquired Starbucks, and Schultz became Starbucks CEO. The picture shows the opening of a Starbucks store in Schultz China in 2006.

In 2008, when Starbucks was in financial crisis, it temporarily closed 7100 stores in the United States and retrained baristas to make perfect espresso. Over the next two years, Starbucks made a massive turnaround. Today, Starbucks has more than 21000 stores in 65 countries, valuing the company at $77 billion.

Source: Yicai.com

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