Ray Kroc
Businessman who built McDonald's into a global fast food empire.
Unknown authorUnknown author · via Wikipedia: Ray Kroc · Public domain
He is credited as the founder of McDonald's Corporation due to his role in its aggressive expansion, though he did not found the original company.[1]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Raymond Albert Kroc
- Born
- 5 October 1902
- Birthplace
- Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
- Died
- 14 January 1984
- Place of death
- San Diego, California, U.S.
- Resting place
- El Camino Memorial Park
- Occupation
- Businessman
- Children
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Kroc left high school at age 15 against his parents' wishes and later lied about his age to enlist as an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross during World War I.[2] After the war, he worked various jobs including as a paper-cup salesman and a pianist.[2][3] From 1938 to 1954, Kroc owned the Prince Castle Sales company, which sold Multimixer machines that blended multiple milkshakes at once.[3] He visited the McDonald brothers' restaurant in 1954 after they purchased eight of his mixers.[4][5]
Kroc retired from running McDonald's in 1973 and purchased the San Diego Padres baseball team for $12 million, keeping the team in San Diego.[6] In 1961, Kroc purchased the company for $2.7 million, but the McDonald brothers would not transfer the original San Bernardino location's real estate and rights to him.[7]
What the cited sources add
The Rosenberg International Franchise Center notes that Kroc was not the founder of McDonald's nor the creator of franchising, but was the visionary behind its aggressive franchising program.[3] That same source states Kroc risked his life savings and went into significant debt to grow McDonald's nationally.[3] The Rosenberg account also reports that Kroc's personal estate was estimated at $500 million at his death and grew to over $2.3 billion by 2002.[3] He donated $255,000 to Richard Nixon's 1972 presidential campaign.[8]
The Kroc Foundation, established by Ray Kroc in 1965, funded research, treatment, and education concerning alcoholism, diabetes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.[9][3] The American Academy of Achievement presented Kroc with its Golden Plate Award in 1973.[10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Mc Donald's Man: What Ray Kroc Hath Wrought Around the World", People, May 19, 1975 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kroc, "Grinding it out: the making of McDonald's", St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1987, p. 19; "Raymond "Ray" Kroc", Rosenberg International Franchise Center; "Raymond "Ray" Kroc", Rosenberg International Franchise Center; Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., "Britannica Guide to 100 Most Influential Americans", Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., October 1, 2008, p. 342 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Raymond "Ray" Kroc", Rosenberg International Franchise Center. facts only, no text reused. paulcollege.unh.edu
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Neil Snyder, "Vision, Values, and Courage: Leadership for Quality Management", Simon and Schuster, June 15, 2010, p. 133 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's Brothers", McDonald's; "Ray Kroc", American Dream Story, November 18, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Castrovince, "How the Padres nearly moved to D.C.", MLB.com, December 20, 2021; Chandler, "Bob Chandler's Tales from the San Diego Padres", Sports Pub., 2006, p. 71; Chandler 2006, p. 73.; Lockwood, "Ray Kroc's dream finally materializes", The San Diego Union, October 2, 1984, p. Baseball-12; "Ray Kroc saved baseball for San Diego 50 years ago today", San Diego Union-Tribune, 2024-01-25; "1974: Ray Kroc gives S.D. Padres a second life", San Diego Union-Tribune, 2019-01-27; Chandler 2006, p. 73.; Lockwood, "Ray Kroc's dream finally materializes en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ray Kroc", American Dream Story, November 18, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Novak, "The McDonald's Man: What Ray Kroc Hath Wrought Around the World", 19 May 1975 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pace, "Ray A. Kroc dies at 81. Built McDonald's Chain", The New York Times, January 15, 1984; Pompilio, "Joan Kroc, Unconventional Philanthropist", Legacy.com, October 12, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ray Kroc" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", www.achievement.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ray Kroc (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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