Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says a better way to describe billionaires is to call them “people of means.”
A recent interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on the billionaire’s political aspirations touched on the power he wields via his enormous bank account, which is estimated at $3.4 billion.
A questioner wanted to know if he agrees with the statement that citizens like him have “too much” power in modern life.
“I would rephrase that and say that ’people of means’ have been able to leverage their wealth and their interest in ways that are unfair,” Mr. Schultz said of the Jan. 29 interview.
“Winners Take All” author Anand Giridharadas shared the clip Monday evening while joking about a “people of billions” compromise.
The video has been viewed more than 2.14 million times on Twitter.
Mr. Schultz, who may run for president as an independenti, asserted that he is “not in bed” with special interest groups of “politicians who are steeped in the ideology of both parties.”
Howard Schultz doesn’t want billionaires to be called billionaires. He suggests “people of means.”
— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) February 5, 2019
Even though he’s playing billionaire identity politics, I am willing to strike a compromise: people of billions.
Or PoBs for short. pic.twitter.com/DgbGhA0L5j
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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