Billionaire Exodus Accelerates: Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz Abandons Seattle for Florida’s Tax-Free Paradise
The great American migration continues. Starbucks founder Howard Schultz is fleeing Seattle for Miami, joining a billionaire exodus that reads like a who’s who of corporate America—and the timing couldn’t be more revealing.
Schultz announced his departure the very same day Washington State’s House of Representatives approved a devastating new millionaire tax. Coincidence? Not likely.
The billionaire coffee mogul, worth $6.6 billion, spent 44 years building his empire in Seattle. Now he’s packed his bags for a $44 million penthouse at the Surf Club, Four Seasons Private Residences in Surfside. The five-bedroom, 5,500-square-foot palace comes complete with a rooftop terrace—and zero state income tax.
The Tax Trap Snaps Shut
Washington’s new legislation imposes a crushing 9.9% tax on income above $1 million. The bill passed 52-46 and heads to the Senate, where Democrats are poised to eliminate Washington’s status as one of just nine states without an income tax.
State policymakers claim only 0.5% of taxpayers will face this new burden. That’s bureaucrat-speak for “we’re targeting the most productive citizens who create jobs and drive economic growth.”
State Rep. Ed Orcutt, who voted against this wealth confiscation scheme, cut through the nonsense: “The problem is overspending. There is no tax or combination of taxes that can keep up with a legislature that continually overspends revenue.”
Follow the Money—Straight to Florida
Schultz isn’t mentioning taxes as his reason for leaving. He’s spinning a tale about “sunshine” and “family” and “next adventures.” Sound familiar?
That’s the exact playbook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos used in 2023 when he bolted from Seattle to Miami. Bezos also cited only “personal reasons”—conveniently ignoring Washington’s 7% capital gains tax on stock and bond sales exceeding $250,000.
The pattern is undeniable. In just the past two months, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sergey Brin, and former Google CEO Larry Page have all announced moves to Miami.
This isn’t a trend. It’s a stampede.
The Hypocrisy Is Breathtaking
Here’s where Schultz’s story gets particularly rich—and not in the financial sense.
During his 2019 flirtation with a presidential run, Schultz proclaimed: “I should be paying more taxes. And more people who make this kind of revenue, and are of means, should be paying more taxes.”
That same night, he declared, “No one wants to see him [Donald Trump] fired more than me.”
Apparently, Schultz’s enthusiasm for higher taxes evaporates when he’s actually expected to pay them. He can virtue-signal all he wants from his Miami penthouse, but his actions speak louder than his progressive platitudes.
Even Starbucks Is Going Red
The corporate retreat isn’t limited to billionaire executives. Starbucks itself is relocating operations to Nashville, Tennessee—another red state bastion of economic freedom.
The company announced the move in early March, describing it as part of a plan to “establish a strategic presence in the Southeast region of the United States.” Translation: We’re escaping the regulatory stranglehold of blue state governance.
Justin Owen, President and CEO of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, issued a pointed welcome: “We welcome all businesses to the free state of Tennessee. We encourage them to remember and embrace why they came here: our low tax, low regulation, pro-worker freedom environment.”
The Verdict Is In
Blue states are losing the economic war, and they’re doing it to themselves. High taxes, excessive regulation, and anti-business hostility are driving wealth creators to states that actually value economic freedom.
While Schultz’s family office relocates to Florida, his nonprofit, the Schultz Family Foundation, will remain in Seattle. That’s telling. Keep the tax-deductible charity in the high-tax state while moving the money-making operations to tax-free territory.
The message to Washington State Democrats is clear: You can tax the rich all you want—if you can catch them. But billionaires have options, and they’re exercising them by voting with their feet.
Red states are winning because conservative policies work. Lower taxes, less regulation, and respect for free enterprise create prosperity. Blue states can learn this lesson, or they can continue watching their most successful residents disappear into the Florida sunshine.
The choice is theirs. But the billionaires have already made their decision.
