Ray Kroc

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Ray Kroc (October 5, 1902 - January 14, 1984) took over the then small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Dubbed the Hamburger King[citation needed], Kroc was included in the TIME 100 list of the world's most influential builders and titans of industry, and amassed a $500 million fortune during his lifetime.[1] He was also the owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team starting in 1974.

Life

Kroc was born to parents of Czech origin in Chicago, Illinois in 1902. During the First World War he trained to become an ambulance driver though the war ended before he ever saw action. He tried his hand at a number of trades, including paper-cup salesman and pianist, between the end of the war and the early 1950s. He eventually became a multi-mixer milkshake machine salesman, traveling across the country. This work introduced him to brothers Richard and Maurice (Mac) McDonald, who had opened the first McDonald's restaurant in 1948, in San Bernardino, California. Their innovative hamburger restaurant ran eight multi-mixers at a time.

Convinced that he could sell numerous mixers to every new restaurant that opened, he partnered with the brothers to open and franchise additional McDonald's restaurants. Kroc eventually became frustrated with the brothers' willingness to accept their chain having only a handful of restaurants. In 1961, he purchased the company from the brothers. The agreement was for the McDonald Brothers to receive $2.7 million for the chain and to continue to receive an overriding royalty of 1% on the gross sales.[1]

The agreement was a handshake agreement between the parties because Kroc insisted he couldn't show the royalty to the investors he had lined up to capitalize his purchase. At the closing table Ray became outraged that the brothers would not transfer to him the real estate and rights to the original unit. The brothers had told Kroc that they were giving the operation, property and all, to the founding employees. Kroc closed the transaction, then refused to acknowledge the royalty portion of the agreement because it wasn't in writing. He also opened a new McDonald's restaurant near the original one (now renamed "The Big M" as they had neglected to retain rights to the name) to force it out of business. [2].

Kroc died of a heart ailment at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California, on January 14, 1984 At the age of 81. Kroc was survived by his third wife, Joan B. Kroc. He had been married twice before, to Ethel Fleming (in 1922) and Jane Dobbins Green (1963), who had been John Wayne's secretary.

The former Dire Straits guitarist and lead vocalist Mark Knopfler released a song about Ray Kroc on his 2004 album Shangri-La. It was inspired by Ray Kroc's autobiography Grinding It Out and the starting of McDonald's, using many of Mr. Kroc's exact words.