Former Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently is muzzled no more. And hed like a little more credit for his business acumen, if you dont mind.
I always felt that business is misunderstood by society, Mackey said during a presentation at the NEXT 2023 conference earlier this month, as first reported by industry publication Baking Business. Its hated by the intellectuals, but we are the real value creators in the world. We are the ones that are creating the prosperity that lifts everyone up. Were not understood but judged and attacked.
The businessman also listed out a few heroes during the conversation, including other businessmen like himself: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie are some of the greatest people who ever lived because of the great value they created, he reportedly said.
The comments come as little surprise to those who have followed Mackeys career. In 2013, he published a book called Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business. In it, he and co-author Rajendra S. Sisodia argue for the inherent good of both business and capitalism.
As of 2017 (Forbes most recent data available), Mackey had a reported net worth of $75 million. He famously cut his own salary to $1 back in 2007. In the past, the libertarian has made waves for making provocative statements, such as that socialists are taking over and that young people dont want to work. He came under fire for his views on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which he called fascist.
Socialists are taking over, Mackey said on libertarian magazine Reasons podcast last year. Theyre marching through the institutions. Theyre taking everything over. Theyre taking over education. It looks like theyve taken over a lot of corporations. It looks like theyve taken over the military, and its just continuing.
He at least partially retracted what he said about the ACA, and recently said he regretted an oft-invoked comment he made about unions in the 1980s: The union is like having herpes, he said. It doesnt kill you, but its unpleasant and inconvenient, and it stops a lot of people from becoming your lover.
We now live in a time where were judged by every little mistake we might have made in our lives, he said on the podcast Freakonomics in 2020. Hey, listen, I have made plenty of mistakes. That was a mistake. I regret that. I wish I could un-say that. I didnt mean to harm anyone. I meant to amuse people. And now its a scar.
At the NEXT conference, Mackey also discussed his career at Whole Foods, which he co-founded in 1980. He retired as CEO of the grocery chain in 2022. For his next act, Mackey plans to start a chain of health restaurants called Love.Life!.
Fortunes CFO Daily newsletter is the must-read analysis every finance professional needs to get ahead. Sign up today.
