Stock options are not always restricted to the highest-ranking executives. Starbucks, the coffee chain, has pushed options down to the lowest-level employees. To quote its founder, Howard Schultz, “Even though we were a private company, we would grant stock options to every employee companywide, from the top managers to the baristas, in proportion to their level of base pay. They could then, through their efforts, help make Starbucks more successful every year, and if Starbucks someday went public, their options could eventually be worth a good sum of money.” When Starbucks eventually went public, employees indeed reaped rewards from the stock options granted.