Howard Schultz and George Soros have no verified personal, family, or business partnership. The clearest documented connection is indirect and political: George Soros donated to American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic-aligned political group that later filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against Schultz while he was considering an independent presidential campaign in 2019.
Importantly, the public record does not show that Soros directed, requested, or personally participated in the complaint against Schultz. The FEC case identifies American Bridge, later known as AB PAC, and its president Bradley Beychok as the complainants. Soros is not listed as a participant in the case.
How Howard Schultz and George Soros Are Connected
The connection between Howard Schultz and George Soros runs through American Bridge 21st Century, rather than through a direct relationship between the two men.
FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, reported that Soros was American Bridge’s largest donor during the 2016 election cycle, contributing $2 million. It also reported that he contributed another $380,000 by April 2018, including $300,000 in February 2018 and $80,000 in 2017.
On February 7, 2019, American Bridge 21st Century and Bradley Beychok filed an FEC complaint concerning Schultz. The complaint came shortly after Schultz publicly said that he was seriously considering running for president as a centrist independent.
That produces a legitimate but limited connection:
| Fact | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|
| Soros funded American Bridge | Yes. He made substantial contributions in earlier election cycles. |
| American Bridge filed an FEC complaint against Schultz | Yes, on February 7, 2019. |
| Soros personally filed the complaint | No. |
| Soros directed American Bridge to target Schultz | No reliable evidence establishes this. |
| Schultz and Soros were business partners | No verified evidence found. |
| Schultz and Soros are relatives | No. |
| They jointly operated a foundation or political organization | No verified evidence found. |
Describing Schultz as being directly targeted by Soros would therefore go beyond what the documented evidence supports.
Why American Bridge Challenged Howard Schultz
Schultz’s possible 2020 presidential campaign created concern among Democrats because he intended to run outside the traditional two-party system.
On January 27, 2019, Schultz told CBS’s 60 Minutes that he was seriously considering running as a centrist independent. Schultz described himself as a lifelong Democrat but criticized both major parties and argued that neither was adequately addressing the country’s problems.
Some Democrats feared that a wealthy independent candidate with relatively moderate political views could take votes from the eventual Democratic nominee and indirectly improve Donald Trump’s chances of reelection. Reuters reported that Schultz’s announcement immediately generated opposition from Democrats worried about that possibility.
American Bridge responded in part through the campaign-finance system.
The FEC Complaint Against Schultz
The Federal Election Commission identifies the case as Matter Under Review 7567.
American Bridge and Beychok alleged that Schultz had effectively become a presidential candidate and therefore should have complied with federal candidate registration and reporting requirements. Schultz had been traveling, hiring advisers and publicly exploring a campaign without formally declaring his candidacy.
The FEC record lists:
- Respondent: Howard Schultz
- Complainants: AB PAC, formerly American Bridge 21st Century, and Bradley Beychok
- Complaint filed: February 7, 2019
- Issue: Presidential candidate registration and reporting requirements
After lengthy consideration, the Commission ultimately voted 6-0 in November 2021 to dismiss the allegation and close the matter. No penalty against Schultz is listed in the FEC disposition.
This outcome is important because the existence of a complaint does not mean the allegations were ultimately established as violations.
Was George Soros Behind the Complaint Against Schultz?
There is no reliable public evidence showing that George Soros personally ordered or coordinated the FEC complaint.
The FEC’s official case record names American Bridge and Bradley Beychok as the complainants. Soros does not appear among the case’s participants.
Soros’s historical financial support of American Bridge establishes a donor relationship with the organization. It does not establish that he controlled each campaign, research decision, legal filing, or political strategy undertaken by the group.
That distinction is especially important when discussing political donors. Super PAC donors can provide large amounts of money, but a past contribution alone is not proof that the donor instructed the organization to take a specific later action.
The evidence therefore supports saying:
A political organization previously funded in part by George Soros filed a complaint against Howard Schultz.
It does not support saying:
George Soros personally filed, ordered, or financed a specific campaign against Howard Schultz.
Also Read: Arash Ferdowsi and Novak Djokovic
Who Is Howard Schultz?
Howard Schultz is the businessman most closely associated with transforming Starbucks from a small Seattle coffee operation into a global coffeehouse company.
Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982. After becoming interested in Italian café culture, he left and founded Il Giornale in 1985. In 1987, Il Giornale raised $3.8 million and acquired Starbucks’s name, roasting operation and six Seattle stores, after which the combined business adopted the Starbucks name.
Schultz subsequently led the company through much of its international expansion and its 1992 public offering.
He should not technically be described as the founder of the original Starbucks, which opened in Seattle in 1971. Starbucks commonly refers to him as its modern-day founder because of his role in creating the coffeehouse model and developing the company into the modern Starbucks organization.
Howard Schultz’s Current Role
Schultz returned as Starbucks interim CEO in 2022 before stepping down in March 2023. In September 2023, he also retired from the Starbucks board.
Starbucks designated him lifelong Chairman Emeritus.
Outside Starbucks, Schultz and his wife Sheri co-founded the Schultz Family Foundation, which focuses primarily on economic mobility and opportunities for young people. The foundation says Schultz is also involved in the Emes Project, which applies investment, public-private partnership and advocacy strategies to social and policy issues.
Who Is George Soros?
George Soros is a Hungarian-born American investor and philanthropist who made his fortune in financial markets and later established one of the world’s largest philanthropic networks.
Born in Budapest in 1930, Soros survived Nazi-occupied Hungary and moved to London in 1947. He studied at the London School of Economics and moved to the United States in 1956, where he developed his career in finance. He launched his own hedge fund in 1970.
Soros later founded what became the Open Society Foundations.
According to Open Society, Soros has given more than $32 billion of his personal fortune to fund the organization’s work. Its programs have supported human rights, education, democratic governance, justice, freedom of expression and related causes internationally.
His son Alex Soros currently chairs the Open Society Foundations’ board, while George Soros remains the organization’s founder.
Howard Schultz and George Soros Have Different Business Backgrounds
Although both men became wealthy and later devoted significant attention to public issues and philanthropy, their careers developed in very different industries.
Schultz’s fortune and public profile came primarily from consumer business and Starbucks. His career centered on retail, branding, employee policies and the global expansion of coffeehouses.
Soros became prominent through investment management and financial markets, followed by several decades of large-scale philanthropy.
Their philanthropic organizations are also separate. The Schultz Family Foundation is independently associated with Howard and Sheri Schultz, while the Open Society Foundations originated with George Soros. Neither organization’s official information identifies the other man as a co-founder or partner.
Did Soros Invest in Starbucks?
An investment in Starbucks stock would not, by itself, establish a business partnership between Soros and Schultz.
Starbucks is a publicly traded company. Institutional investors can buy or sell its shares without having any working relationship with its executives or former executives.
For additional context, Soros Fund Management’s latest available SEC Form 13F for the quarter ending June 30, 2026 does not list Starbucks among its disclosed U.S. securities holdings. A Form 13F is only a quarterly snapshot of certain reportable securities and should not be interpreted as a complete record of every asset or every investment George Soros may personally own.
There is therefore no basis for describing Soros as Schultz’s Starbucks partner.
What Happened to Schultz’s Presidential Plans?
Schultz ultimately decided not to run in the 2020 presidential election.
On September 6, 2019, he announced that an independent campaign was no longer the best way for him to serve the country. He also noted that ballot-access deadlines could force him to decide before the Democratic nominee was known, potentially creating the electoral outcome he said he wanted to avoid.
His political exploration therefore lasted only part of 2019, but it generated significant attention because an independently financed Schultz campaign could potentially have altered the dynamics of the election.
The American Bridge complaint became one of the formal campaign-finance disputes arising from that period.
What the Evidence Actually Says About Howard Schultz and George Soros
The public record points to one meaningful indirect connection.
George Soros financially supported American Bridge 21st Century. American Bridge subsequently challenged Howard Schultz through an FEC complaint when Schultz was exploring a 2020 independent presidential campaign.
Nothing in the official FEC record establishes that Soros personally initiated that complaint. Likewise, reliable sources do not establish a family relationship, personal partnership, joint company, shared foundation or other direct financial arrangement between Schultz and Soros.
For readers encountering claims that the two men were secret partners or that Soros personally controlled political actions against Schultz, those claims require evidence beyond the documented donor relationship. The available primary records do not provide it.
FAQ
Are Howard Schultz and George Soros business partners?
No verified evidence shows that Howard Schultz and George Soros are business partners. Their major business and philanthropic activities have operated through separate organizations.
What is the connection between Howard Schultz and George Soros?
The strongest documented connection is indirect. Soros donated substantial sums to American Bridge 21st Century, and that organization later filed an FEC complaint concerning Schultz’s possible 2020 presidential campaign.
Did George Soros file an FEC complaint against Howard Schultz?
No. The Federal Election Commission identifies AB PAC, formerly American Bridge 21st Century, and Bradley Beychok as the complainants. Soros is not listed as a complainant or participant.
What happened to the complaint against Howard Schultz?
The FEC ultimately voted 6-0 to dismiss the allegation in November 2021 and closed the case. The FEC record lists no monetary penalty against Schultz.
Did Howard Schultz run for president in 2020?
No. Schultz seriously explored an independent candidacy beginning in early 2019 but announced on September 6, 2019, that he would not run.
Are Howard Schultz and George Soros related?
No credible public evidence indicates that Schultz and Soros are relatives. They come from different family backgrounds and built their careers independently.
Also Read: Charlize Theron and Steve Cahillane
