SimplyAbuDhabi XXXVII

092 | SIMPLY INFLUENTIAL SIMPLY INFLUENTIAL | 093 “We created a global culture.” There are few better places to sip the first coffee of the morning than Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. Italy’s oldest shopping arcade is nicknamed il salotto – the drawing room – because it’s where all of Milan come to sip, gossip and shop. It’s here that Mario Prada set up a small boutique selling luggage in 1913, and Davide Campari, creator of Italy’s other favourite drink, opened his first cafe in 1915. And it was 35 years ago that Howard Schultz sat here at Caffe Camparino and ordered an espresso and had an idea that has changed our tastes more than he dreamt possible. This small moment launched a business so huge it has become as much of a symbol of America as McDonald’s, cowboys and blue jeans. Starbucks as we know it today serves 95m customers each week in more than 28,000 cafes across 77 countries. It is worth $71bn (£55bn) and has earned him a $2.8bn fortune. Quite simply, Schultz says: “We created a global culture.” Schultz, who still lives and works in Seattle, stepped down as executive chairman of the firm in 2018, hinting at the time he might go into politics, prompting widespread speculation that was considering a presidential run. In an interview with The New York Times, he said: “For some time now, I have been deeply concerned about our country. I intend to think about a range of options, and that could include public service.” While he did not run as a candidate for the 2020 election, Schultz continues to speak out in support of the issues that matter to him, including employee healthcare benefits and better race relations. “One of the things I want to do in my next chapter,” he has said, “is to figure out if there is a role I can play.” But before the world’s barista-in-chief could take the time to decide whether to run for commander-in-chief, he had one last – very tricky – task: opening the first Starbucks cafe in Italy.