What Chobani's Employee Stock Ownership Plan Means for the Middle Class?
Last week Chobani yogurt founder Hamdi Ulukaya gave his workers a taste of capitalism by granting them a share in the value of the company. Ulukaya, who is also the CEO of the company, promised 2000 employees ten percent of the value of the entire corporation if the company goes public or is sold in the future. The potential value of this stake is quite significant since the media reported Chobani's potential estimated value as high as $ 2-3 billion. The announcement led to almost two hundred articles in the press, an NBC Evening News exclusive interview with Ulukaya by anchor Lester Holt, a People Magazine story, a light-up on the Facebook and Twitter universes, and commentary on many TV and radio stations across the nation that has gone on for days and is still continuing. Why did this story strike such a cord around the country and why did Hamdi Ulukaya become such a CEO rock star overnight?
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