Mellody Hobson (born April 3, 1969) is the Co-CEO, President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Ariel Investment Trust, a Chicago-based investment firm that specializes in small and mid-capitalized stocks based in the United States. Mellody currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Starbucks Corporation and a director of JPMorgan Chase.

Early Life and Education

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Mellody is the youngest daughter of a single mother to six children. Her mother, Dorothy Ashley, renovated apartments and condos in old and sometimes abandoned buildings. She grew up in poverty, and that experience drove her as a child to want to understand money.

“We moved often,” says Hobson. “There was always a lot of drama surrounding our living situation. At times, my mother couldn’t pay her bills and our electricity would be cut off, and we would have to heat water for our baths. We also had our phone cut off at times. We were even evicted a few times and had our car repossessed. But it wasn’t as bad as some had it, so I tried not to make too much of it. I had a loving family, and although my mother often came up short financially, she did the best she could.”

She graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago in 1987 and from Princeton University in 1991.

Money wasn’t an economic construct to me. It wasn’t toys and cars and vacations. Money was food. Shelter. Self-esteem. Books. Hot baths. Peace of mind. I wanted all those things. Not having money focused me. I was mortified every time the phone was disconnected, or the electricity shut off, or we got evicted. To this day, I do not take housing or the ability to pay my bills for granted. My childhood circumstances made me desperate to understand money—not to make it but to master it. ¹