Sheri Schultz, the wife of former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, is heavily involved in her husband’s philanthropic efforts, especially with at-risk children, and Schultz attributes a lot of his success in the coffee world to her encouragement.
Her full name is Sheri Kersch Schultz, and they have been married since 1982 and have two children together – a daughter and a son. Together, they preside over a multi-billion dollar empire.
Howard Schultz is now chairman emeritus of the coffee chain that he led for years. Howard Schultz is widely reported to be considering a 2020 presidential run, and he was scheduled to appear on 60 Minutes to discuss that possibility on January 27, 2019.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Sheri Kersch Schultz Is President of the Family’s Foundation & Howard Described How She Encouraged Him to Follow His Dreams
Sheri Schultz attends the Inspirational Forum during Opportunity Fair and Forum on August 13, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois.
Sheri Kersch Schultz is president of the Schultz Family Foundation, which, according to its website, “she co-founded in 1996 with her husband, Howard Schultz, chairman emeritus of Starbucks Coffee Company.”
The website site says the foundation is “guided by a belief that the right opportunities at the right time can unleash human potential—and that ‘inequality of opportunity’ is stifling America’s own potential, the Foundation invests in innovative solutions and collaborative partnerships that create new pathways to opportunity so disconnected populations can overcome barriers to success.”
“Refusing to accept the status quo, Sheri, Howard, and the Foundation decided to concentrate their efforts on two communities: Opportunity Youth, the 4.6 million 16- to 24-year-olds in the country who are not in school and not working, and America’s 3.9 million Post 9/11 Veterans, heroic individuals whose valuable skills and experience are often misunderstood and undervalued when they return to civilian life.”
Howard Schultz recalled a time when Sheri “was the sole breadwinner and seven months pregnant, while he worked without a salary on his small coffee business,” according to The Huffington Post.
His father-in-law told him, “It’s time that you give up this [coffee] hobby and get a job,” prompting Howard to cry, but his wife disagreed and told him, “We’re going to follow these dreams that you have. We’re going to see this through,” according to The Huffington Post.
2. Sheri Schultz’s Husband Describes Her Class & ‘Solid Midwestern Values’
Howard Schultz (L) Sheri Schultz attend the 31st Annual FGI Night of Stars event at Cipriani Wall Street on October 23, 2014 in New York City.
In a chapter of his book, Pour Your Heart Into It, Howard Schultz described how he met Sheri, who was then known as Sheri Kersch.
“I paid off my college loans and rented an apartment in Greenwich Village with another guy. We were rolling, and having a great time,” he wrote. “During one summer, eight of us rented a cottage in the Hamptons for weekends, and it was there, on the beach, July Fourth weekend, 1978, that I met Sheri Kersch.”
He described in detail what drew him to the woman who would become his wife.
“With her flash of long wavy blonde hair and unflagging energy, Sheri attracted me with her impeccable style and class,” he wrote. “She was in graduate school studying interior design and also spent summer weekends with a group of friends at the beach. She was not only beautiful but well-grounded, with solid midwestern values, from a close and loving family. We were both starting our careers, without a care in the world. We began dating, and the more I got to know her, the more I realized what a fine human being she was.”
3. Sheri Schultz Is an Ohio Native Who Studied Political Science in College
(L-R) Sheri Schultz, Photographer Michael Dweck and Howard Schultz attend Hamptons Magazine’s Celebration of Art of the City with Michael Dweck at The Maidstone Hotel on July 8, 2016 in East Hampton, New York.
According to the foundation website, Sheri grew up in Lima, Ohio and “holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Denver.”
She was described as an Ohio native who has long lived in Seattle, Washington with her husband. For his part, according to the foundation, “Howard grew up in public housing and was the first in his family to graduate college. As a young entrepreneur, he set out to build a different kind of company, one that delivers business excellence through a culture of compassion.”
GettySheri Kersch Schultz attends the GLSEN Respect Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on October 19, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.
The foundation website calls Sheri Schultz a “passionate volunteer and long-time advocate for at-risk youth, Sheri recognized early in her work shaping the foundation how a fractured system of social supports was failing to reach people who were motivated but unable to escape homelessness or poverty, or simply to improve their lives.”
Under Sheri’s leadership, according to the foundation, “the Foundation has launched two national initiatives: A portfolio of programs and investments that put Opportunity Youth on a path towards skills training and employment, and an initiative which helps returning military service members and their families successfully transition into civilian jobs and professional careers. Each program actively engages the business community, bringing together leaders from the private and public sectors, whose collaboration is key to sustaining each program’s success,” its website says.
4. Sheri & Howard Schultz Have a Daughter Who works as a Social Work Clinician
(L-R) Jordan Schultz, Breanna Schultz, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz, Sheri Schultz, Addison Schultz and Tal Hirshberg attend the LDF 31th National Equal Justice Awards Dinner at Cipriani 42nd Street on November 2, 2017 in New York City.
In 2017, The New York Times ran a lengthy wedding announcement on the couple’s daughter, Addison Schultz, who married Tal Hirshberg. The article said the bride was “a social-work clinician for the New York Foundling, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help children and adults reach their potential through the strengthening of families and communities. She graduated from N.Y.U., from which she also received a master’s degree in social work.”
The groom was described as “a Manhattan-based entertainment and public affairs project manager for Starbucks. He graduated from Duke and received a law degree from Emory.”
“We always manage to get things done despite the fact that we’re both pretty anxious people,” he told The Times. “Maybe we both drink too much coffee.”
5. The Schultz Family Has a Net Worth in the Billions of Dollars & The Couple’s Son Is a Sports Journalist
GettyHoward Schultz (L) and Sheri Kersch Schultz attend the GLSEN Respect Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on October 19, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.
According to Forbes, Howard Schultz’s net worth is estimated at around $3.4 billion.
When he first ran Starbucks, the company only had 11 stores. It became a household name and expanded to 28,000 outlets, according to Forbes.
Daily Mail described in 2011 how Howard Schultz purchased the couple’s son a $4.6 million “luxury loft” in Greenwich Village in New York. The son’s name is Jordan and he’s married to wife, Breanna. Jordan Schultz works as a sports columnist.
The son’s wedding announcement in the Times reports that she is the former Breanna Lind Hawes. “Mrs. Schultz, 27, is a senior manager in the sports and entertainment marketing group at Edelman, the New York public relations agency. She graduated from the University of Washington,” the wedding announcement read.
As for Jordan, the announcement said, “Mr. Schultz, 25, is known as Jordan. He writes a sports column for The Huffington Post, working in New York. He graduated from Occidental College.”