In the early years of my marriage, my wife and I would travel in December to visit her mother for Christmas in Eku, Delta State, Nigeria, and spend New Year’s holidays with my mother in Benin City. On one of those trips, we attended the New Year’s midnight service at the Church of God Mission with Archbishop Benson Idahosa presiding. He made a profound statement that has stuck with me ever since. He said: “When God has finished working for you, everything looks easy.”
I’ve held those lines close to my heart through the years from 1989 when he said it, and that is the subject of this short article.
I assume most readers here know of a company called Starbucks. They sell coffee where people drink coffee and tea where people drink tea. They tried to sell coffee in India. The people said, “Why not tea?”
Starbucks was originally owned by a certain gentleman, Jerry Baldwin who wanted to sell it for $3.8m in 1987.
Now, read what Howard Schultz had to say.
The owner approached me and said, “I want to sell and I believe you’re the right person to own this company.”
I had an opportunity but no money. The gentleman told me he would give me 90 days to raise the money. After 30 days, he came to me and asked how I was doing raising the money. By this time, I had raised only a third of the money. A few weeks later, he sent for me. He said to me, “Hey, I’ve just received an all cash offer from a gentleman, and it looks like I’m gonna have to take it. I need the money badly. I’m in debt.”
I asked him who it was that made the offer. It turned out that it was one of my investors whom I had approached for help. After listening to my passionate plea about what dreams I had to make Starbucks a great company, he declined my request but turned around behind me to make an offer to purchase the company.
I was heartbroken. A week or so later, I was at a basketball game in Seattle, Washington, and I was lamenting to a friend of mine how I had just lost an opportunity. I told him the whole story.
My friend said to me, “I need you to stop by at my office tomorrow. I work for Bill Gates Sr.” At this time, in 1987, Bill Gates Jr. was unknown but his father was a titan in Seattle, Washington.
I went to see my friend who was a young lawyer at Bill Gates Sr’s Law Firm. He took me right away into Bill Gates’ office. He was a towering man at 6ft 8 inches.
I told him the story. He then asked me two questions: “Is your story completely true? Have you left anything out?” I said, “No sir.” And then, he said to me, “Walk with me.” We got in the elevator, went downstairs and crossed the road to another tall building. We got in the elevator to the topmost floor. It was then I realized that we were going into the office of the gentleman who had tried to go behind me to purchase Starbucks. Bill Gates Sr. stood over the gentleman who was sitting behind his desk. He leaned over and said to him, “Howard Schultz and the owner of the Starbucks company will not hear from you again. I want you to stand down.”
The gentleman just said, “I understand.”
I was in awe.
As we got in the elevator to go downstairs, still in shock, I asked Bill Gates what just happened. He said to me, “My son and I are gonna help you purchase Starbucks.” That was how I came to own Starbucks.
As of November 2022, the company had 35,711 stores in 80 countries, 15,873 of which are located in the United States. Of Starbucks’ U.S.-based stores, over 8,900 are company-operated, while the remainder are licensed.
Today, Starbucks is worth $108B.
Dear reader, Howard Schultz did not know the Gateses but he had a friend who had access and used his access to help a friend. I did not know this story until today when a friend sent me a video clip where Howard Schultz was telling the story in something that looked like an innocuous interview.
I actually find it curious when I read stories that have no basis in fact calling Bill Gates names and attributing all kinds of evil like Planned Parenthood depopulation agenda in Africa, Vaccine conspiracies and all kinds of outlandish stories to Bill Gates and his family.
Are you surprised that Bill Gates Jr, the son of Bill Gates Sr, became the richest man in the world?
His father was not only a good man, he used his influence to help total strangers. A man like that probably entertained Angels for all we know. Wikipedia describes him as Attorney, Philanthropist, and Civic Leader. Be kind.
There are no saints on this earth. I’m not a Saint. Neither are you, my dear reader. The Judgement sit belongs to God only who searches the hearts of men.
Oh finally, I share something interesting with Bill Gates. Jr.
We are both divorced and very single. What a life!!!!
P.S. If you have any great stories of God’s hand upon a life, yours or someone you know, share with us. We will be glad to help you embellish and publish. We write. That’s something we know how to do very well. Be kind to share and subscribe.
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Michael Ovienmhada.
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief,
Egogonewshub.com
