Get Melania Trump on the horn: Someone’s been bullying Howard Schultz by calling him a “billionaire.”In an interview with CNBC last week, the former Starbucks CEO appeared to take personal offense to being described as a “billionaire.” He said that people should use the softer “people of wealth” or “people of means” to describe his class, which accounts for just 1 percent of the world’s population but controls more than half of its money.“The moniker billionaire now has become the catchphrase,” said Schultz, who’s been a lifelong Democrat but is pondering an independent run for president. “I would rephrase that and I would say that ‘people of means’ have been able to leverage their wealth and their interests in ways that are unfair.”
Advertisement
Schultz has spent the last few weeks on a press tour for his new book, as he mulls a possible third-party candidacy, giving controversial interviews about embattled billionaires and all the mean, “un-American” progressives making fun of them. He singled out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who has pointed to class inequality as one of her hallmark issues, as an example of what’s wrong with the Democratic Party.“I respect the Democratic Party. I no longer feel affiliated because I don't know their views represent the majority of Americans. I don't think we want a 70 percent income tax in America,” Schultz said late last month, in a mischaracterization of Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal for a marginal tax on income over $10 million. It would affect a small few, including Schultz, who grew up in a lower-income family.In 2016, Schultz endorsed Wall Street-friendly Hillary Clinton, though he seems far less keen on Elizabeth Warren. Schultz called her ideas for an annual wealth tax on hyper-millionaires “ridiculous.”Cover: Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speaks Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, at an event to promote his book, "From the Ground Up," in Seattle. Schultz has faced a rocky reception since he announced earlier in January that he's considering an independent presidential bid. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)