Howard Schultz leaves Starbucks, wants to run for POTUS

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/04/news/companies/howard-schultz-starbucks/index.html

And in a speech to Starbucks shareholders in 2016, Schultz said he feared that the opportunities that allowed him to achieve his American Dream — he grew up in subsidized housing in Brooklyn — have escaped the grasp of too many people.

"The American Dream can't be only accessible to people of privilege who are white and live in the right zip code," he said.

In an email to Starbucks employees obtained by CNNMoney, Schultz did not address a future in politics. He expressed gratitude and encouraged the employees to foster a "sense of community and human connection."

"I still feel like a kid from Brooklyn who grew up in public housing," he said. "I am living the American Dream."


Here's from the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/business/dealbook/starbucks-howard-schultz.html

SEATTLE — Howard Schultz, the outspoken executive chairman of Starbucks, will leave the company at the end of the month, bringing to an end the tenure of a socially conscious entrepreneur who turned a local Seattle coffee chain into a global giant with more than 28,000 stores in 77 countries.

Mr. Schultz’s decision to retire, a plan he said he privately outlined to the board a year ago, will most likely stoke speculation that he is considering a run for president in 2020. He is frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for the Democratic Party and has become increasingly vocal on political issues, including criticizing President Trump last year as “a president that is creating episodic chaos every day.”

While Mr. Schultz, 64, typically bats away speculation about his political ambitions with an eye roll or a pithy answer, on Monday he acknowledged for the first time that it is something he may consider.

“I want to be truthful with you without creating more speculative headlines,” he told The New York Times. “For some time now, I have been deeply concerned about our country — the growing division at home and our standing in the world.”