SUCCESS

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.

Related: How much MSFT stock does Microsoft founder Bill Gates actually own?

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.

Related: How much META stock does Facebook founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg own?

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.

Related: How much DELL stock does founder & CEO Michael Dell actually own?

Travelers’ budgets have always influenced the kind of trips they take and the places they visit. Now, a growing number of travelers from both the U.S. and other Western countries are also choosing destinations whose currencies are significantly lower than the dollar.

In its annual 2027 Travel Trends report, booking platform Skyscanner identified “currency tourism” as one of the trends gaining steam for the coming year.

According to its survey of 28,000 travelers, Skyscanner found that 41% changed their destination to one with a more favorable exchange rate, while among Gen Z, this number goes up to 72%. For example, on the Skyscanner platform, searches for Vietnam increased by 64% between 2025 and 2026.

Specific cities around the world identified as destinations for “currency chasers” include the coastal Vietnamese town of Da Nang, Wrocław in Poland, Tirana in Albania, and Bishkek in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan.

According to Skyscanner, searches for travel to the latter capital jumped by as much as 501% in certain regional markets.

Vietnam, Albania, Japan singled out by currency chasers

Japan, once considered an expensive travel destination, is now an option for currency chasers due to the devaluation of the yen over the last few years, CNN noted.

And while Türkiye has seen prices go up significantly over the last year, it is still seen as a “currency chasing” destination for travelers from countries including the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.

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“Travelers are discovering the exchange rate advantages of going to a few places where the exchange rate allows them to potentially stay longer because they don’t have the same expenses,” Islas dos Santos, the commercial director for the Americas, said in an interview with TheStreet.

“If you if have $100 USD, you could really do a lot during a week in Vietnam versus if you have $100 USD in New York, you’re probably blowing through that in a day.”

Vietnam was identified by Skyscanner as seeing the greatest spike in interest among currency chasers.Image source: Shutterstock

“The more flexible the traveler… the better they can find their money stretching”

“What we’re noticing is the more flexible the traveler can be, the better they can find their money stretching,” Dos Santos also said.

Other travel trends identified by Skyscanner going into 2027 include “merch tourism,” which involves planning a trip around obtaining certain clothing or other merchandise from a team or local store not available elsewhere, and “grand odysseys.”

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Although the latter trend was obviously inspired by the 2026 Christopher Nolan epic film, the term can also be used to describe the growing interest in learning about ancient civilizations and the modern-day locations of various historical events.

The movie does, however, seem to be single-handedly influencing travel trends. According to the travel trends survey, 34% of the 28,000 polled travelers have tried to plan a trip inspired by “The Odyssey” this year.

In addition, 43% of Millennial and 42% of Gen Z travelers have thought about booking a trip inspired by Troy or ancient Greece.

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