Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he will make sure to separate himself from his financial assets if he decides to run against President Trump next year.
“If Howard Schultz decides to run for president, he will take the steps necessary to create an appropriate level of separation from any financial interests,” Schultz spokesman Tucker Warren said in a statement to CNBC on Wednesday. Warren didn’t clarify what steps might be needed to avoid potential conflicts of interest as a candidate.
Schultz, who is said to have a net worth of $3.5 billion, is the largest individual shareholder of the coffee company. He has been flirting with entering the 2020 race but has faced intense criticism from Democrats who are worried he would only help re-elect Trump. He stepped down as chairman and CEO of Starbucks last year.
The possible 2020 contender is in a similar situation as President Trump, who led the Trump Organization until he was elected in 2016. Trump put his stake in the company into a blind trust and handed control of the daily operations to his sons and the company’s chief financial officer.
The then-director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, which advises federal employees on avoiding conflicts of interests, said Trump didn’t go far enough.
“This is not a blind trust, it’s not even close,” Walter Shaub said at the time. “The only thing it has in common with a blind trust is the label ‘trust.'”
