Starbucks CEO to investor: If you support traditional marriage, ‘sell your shares’

Starbucks CEO
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz – Photo Credit BusinessInsider.com

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sent a clear message of his support for gay marriage at the annual shareholders meeting Wednesday in Seattle, telling an investor if he disagrees he should sell his shares and invest in some other company.

The shareholder, Tom Strobhar, founder of Corporate Morality Action Center, complained that Starbucks lost customers because of its support for gay marriage, pointing to “disappointing” earnings in the first full quarter after a boycott last year by the National Organization for Marriage.

Schultz responded that “not every decision is an economic decision,” and pointed to a 38 percent shareholder return over the last year, according to Forbes.

In saying the company wants “to embrace diversity,” Schultz added amid applause:

“If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38% you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares in Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much.”

There is some history between the two men, as Strobhar asked Schultz at last year’s shareholders meeting to stop endorsing liberal issues because they were bad for business, as reported by Yahoo.

And while this intolerance for opposing gay marriage was directed at one of its investors, one has to wonder if it also extends to the paying customer?

Starbucks Howards Schultz on gay marriage (Video)

[poll id=”47″]

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Tom Tillison

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Comments are closed.

Latest Articles