Howard Schultz can be credited with stirring up a revolution — in the way the world drinks its coffee, that is.
While Schultz didn’t create Starbucks (three entrepreneurs, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker started selling coffee beans and equipment in 1971), he was hired as the company’s director of retail operations and marketing a little over a decade later, in 1982.
But after a life-changing espresso adventure in Milan, Schultz actually left Starbucks to start his own coffee chain, Il Giornale.
Schultz found success with his concept of a “third place,” transforming the local coffee shop into a community gathering space situated between home and work.
He acquired Starbucks in 1987, and the rest was history. Perhaps Forbes put it best when it said that, under Schultz’s leadership, “Starbucks has not only become a household name but a daily fixture for coffee lovers.”
Today, Starbucks operates nearly 41,000 stores around the globe, employs approximately 381,000 people, and generates more than $37 billion in annual revenue.
But while Schultz stepped down from Starbucks’ board of directors in 2023, he remains widely known as the company’s largest individual shareholder.
Here’s a closer look at how much Starbucks stock he holds in 2026 and what his stake is worth.
How much of Starbucks does Howard Schultz own?
According to Starbucks’ 2024 Proxy Statement, the former CEO received a base salary of just $1 during his tenure as interim CEO in 2022 and 2023, when he was called in to help the company navigate the challenging post-pandemic retail landscape.
According to the Proxy, Schultz “did not receive any cash incentives, equity awards, or cash severance rights during his recent tenure as interim ceo and as a director.”
However, the Proxy also detailed that Schultz owned 21,795,538 shares of the company at the time, or 1.93% of all shares outstanding, making him its largest individual shareholder.
Because Schultz is no longer an executive or director, more recent company disclosures do not reflect his current holdings. His last publicly reported purchase of Starbucks shares took place in 2022, and he continues to be identified as the company’s largest individual shareholder.
Assuming Schultz still holds 21,795,538 shares of SBUX, given its October 26 closing price of $102.69, those shares would be worth roughly $2.24 billion as of this article’s last update.
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How & when did Howard Schultz accumulate his Starbucks stock?
Schultz served as CEO of Starbucks for three distinct terms. He first led the company from its acquisition in 1987 until 2000, when he became the company’s chief global strategist. He returned as CEO in 2008, serving until 2017, when he transitioned to the position of executive chairman. Finally, Schultz returned as interim CEO from 2022 to 2023.
Along the way, Schultz accumulated shares of SBUX in a number of ways:
His original investment: When Il Giornale acquired Starbucks for $3.8 million in August 1987, Schultz raised the money from outside investors, including Bill Gates Sr., the father of Microsoft’s founder. Schultz himself received an initial equity stake, but because Starbucks was privately held at the time, those details are not publicly known.However, when Starbucks went public on June 26, 1992, Schultz owned approximately 1.1 million shares of common stock, or roughly 9.7% of the company, valued at $18.89 million.
Executive compensation: Although Schultz did not receive equity awards during his final stint in 2022 and 2023, he did get stock-based compensation during his earlier years as CEO. In 2008, for instance, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Schultz received a $1.19 million salary and stock option awards worth nearly $8.6 million. The publication also reported that he exercised and retained nearly 4.2 million shares worth $96.5 million in October 2007.
Personal stock purchases: Schultz also used his personal wealth to purchase additional shares of the coffee company, a move that CEOs often make to demonstrate confidence in their businesses. In 2022, for example, Schultz spent approximately $15 million to purchase roughly 210,000 additional shares of SBUX.
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Starbucks’ largest institutional shareholders
But even Schultz’s venti-sized stake in Starbucks pales in comparison to the company’s institutional investors.
According to Starbucks’ 2026 Proxy Statement, The Vanguard Group (the company’s largest institutional shareholder) owned 113,888,463 shares outstanding, or a 10% stake in the company.
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Capital Research Global Investors owned 76,686,152 shares outstanding, or 6.6% of Starbucks, and Capital World Investors owned 75,625,746 shares, or a 6.6% stake.
Given Starbucks’ October 26 closing price of $102.69, those shares would be worth roughly $11.69 billion, $7.87 billion, and $7.76 billion respectively, as of this article’s last update.
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