The head honcho thinks splurging nearly $10 on a beverage during a cost-of-living crisis is fine for a ‘special experience’. It’s time to offer my own valuable advice
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don’t mean to vent, but what is up with Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s obscenely large compensation package? Niccol, who joined the company in 2024, is one of the best-paid executives in the US, raking in $96m (£70m) in just his first four months on the job. The man makes 6,666 times more than the company’s typical employee, according to a 2025 Executive Paywatch report. He also regularly commutes to work via private jet. Can’t expect a strategic genius to live next to the office like the rest of the hoi polloi.
Still, while he might be good at flogging drinks, Niccol apparently has trouble reading a room. As the cost of living surges, and the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25, the CEO is getting roasted for calling a $9 coffee “a really affordable premium experience”. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Niccol noted that the K-shaped economy, in which higher-income households are thriving and splurging while the bottom half struggles, isn’t really affecting business.
“People … want to have a special experience, and regardless of what your income level is, in some cases, a $9 experience does feel like you’re splurging,” Niccol said. “In other cases, people believe … ‘Well it’s less than $10 and I get a really premium experience.’”
