Howard Schultz, the billionaire former head of Starbucks Corp., has moved to Miami after more than four decades in Seattle, bringing his family office with him.
"We have entered the "retirement" phase of our lives. (A term we are both just getting used to.)," Schultz wrote in a post on LinkedIn, referring to his wife Sheri. "Last year we traveled to dozens of places around the world — places we were too busy to see when building Starbucks and raising kids. And we have moved to Miami for our next adventure together."
Schultz, who's worth $6.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, said his foundation will remain in Seattle, run by Vivek Varma, but the family office will relocate.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Schultz has bought a penthouse at the Surf Club, Four Seasons Private Residences, for $44 million, citing people with knowledge of the purchase.
Schultz made a reference to hoping that Starbucks will remain in Seattle as Washington State faces challenges keeping businesses and wealthy individuals.
The state introduced a 7% capital gains tax in 2021 and is now considering a 9.9% tax on incomes over $1 million, fundamentally changing the way revenue is collected.
Despite the proliferation of taxes, tens of thousands of people have been moving to Washington every year, and last year it ranked sixth among the states in gaining total residents.
"Like many other Seattle-based companies, Starbucks today stands on the shoulders of the many Pacific Northwesterners who built the company. They helped shape the culture, the benefits and the brand, contributing to the civic, community and public life of the city and state," Shultz explained.
"It is our hope that Washington will remain a place for business and entrepreneurship to thrive, creating essential opportunity for those in Seattle and the surrounding areas," he added.
Miami has been luring ultra-wealthy business executives, family offices and financial firms since the pandemic upended the U.S., helped by its low taxes.
Since Ken Griffin's Citadel moved in 2022, finance companies and tech companies such as Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have opened or expanded offices.
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