Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says America's inequality problem has gotten out of control, and he's promising to fix it

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Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has discussed plans to run for the Oval Office.

• In a recent interview with Business Insider's Kate Taylor, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz discussed his potential run for office in the upcoming 2020 election.
• Schultz said that America's financial inequality issue needs to be addressed by the next president.
• While Schultz did not provide specific plans, he assured Taylor the issue will be at the top of his agenda if he runs for president.

Howard Schultz promises to address financial inequality if he runs for president.

When Business Insider's Kate Taylor brought up America's billionaire problem in a recent interview with the former Starbucks CEO, he did not provide specific plans for a solution. However, he assured Taylor the issue is one of his top concerns.

"If I run for president and am fortunate to win, what I can promise you is I will address the issues of inequality in many ways, because I have great empathy and compassion, because I was one of those people once in my life," Schultz told Business Insider. "And I'm in a unique position of having lived on both ends of the spectrum."

In the United States, the extreme wealth gap is a growing issue brought on, in part, by dynastic wealth. Schultz noted that while president Donald Trump says the economy is in good standing, he is talking about a select group of the superrich, while "the vast majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck."

Read more: Here's the income it takes for a family of 4 to be considered poor in every state

"The next president of the United States must do a number of things to significantly address with urgency the level of inequality," said Schultz.

Schultz went on to note that he believes the wealthy should be paying more in taxes and that the corporate tax rate should be higher.

He added that he has seen both ends of the spectrum - financial struggles in his childhood and financial success in his adult life.

"I still have the scars, the vulnerability, the shame, the insecurity of growing up in a family where my parents couldn't afford the $96-a-month rent for the apartment in the projects," Schultz said. "That just never left me - like all of us, my childhood experiences have defined me."

Read the full interview here.