Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has moved to Miami.
Schultz made the announcement Tuesday on his Linkedin page, saying he and his wife have entered the retirement phase of their lives.
“We are enjoying the sunshine of South Florida and its allure to our kids on the East Coast as they raise families of their own,” he said.
Schultz served as CEO three separate times at the Seattle-based coffee giant.
“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. 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 said.
His post came the same day that a millionaire’s tax passed the Washington House. The bill would create a 9.9% tax on households in the state earning more than $1 million.
Schultz has a net worth of $3.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Last week, Starbucks announced that Tennessee would be the home of a new corporate operations office. The coffee giant said its global headquarters will stay in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood.
Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, told KIRO Newsradio the decision underscores the competitive pressures Seattle faces in retaining and attracting jobs.
“We’re in a super competitive marketplace when it comes to locating and growing jobs in Seattle, and we haven’t added jobs in the last year. In fact, we’ve lost jobs,” Scholes said. “We’ve seen a lot of job growth on the other side of the lake, but not in the city of Seattle, and that coincides with significant increases in business taxes and employer taxes.”