Ray Kroc
American restaurant entrepreneur (1902 - 1984)
- || At The Bottom
1919 -- Just after World War I, a 17-year-old Ray Kroc was working as a salesman for a ribbon company, "peddling rosebuds for farm wives to sew on garters and bed cushions." He enjoyed the work but could not imagine making a career out of it. A self-described bad student, Kroc was an energetic daydreamer who bounced around between several jobs as a young man. In his spare time, Kroc earned extra income as a piano player, performing anywhere he could find a gig, including a brief period of time playing in a Chicago bordello. Though he eventually landed a job as a paper cup salesman -- a job he kept for several years -- Kroc was not content and hoped that something else might one day come along.
- || At The Top
1963 -- Ray Kroc, who now owned a chain of restaurants known as McDonald's, sold his billionth hamburger and celebrated the opening of his 500th franchise. That same year, his company developed a clown character called Ronald to be its mascot; within five years, American children would recognize Ronald McDonald in the same way they recognized Santa Claus. Ray Kroc was now the owner of one of the most remarkable success stories in the history of modern American business. His empire was worth hundreds of millions of dollars -- a fortune that would only grow in the next twenty years. When he died in 1984, Ray Kroc had seen McDonalds expand overseas, with restaurants opening in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. His company's business model had been widely imitated by other fast food chains, but none would be as popular and financially lucrative as McDonald's.
- || The Comeback
Ray Kroc never stopped looking for opportunity. His job as a paper cup salesman had led him to a milkshake machine manufacturer, where he worked for almost 20 years before discovering a small but successful hamburger restaurant in Southern California. There, two brothers -- Dick and Mac McDonald -- had turned a simple idea into a small fortune. Kroc sold milkshake machines to the McDonald brothers and tried to persuade them to open more stores throughout the country. Ray Kroc might have continued to work as a salesman and enjoyed a comfortable retirement, but this plan didn't make his pulse "hammer with excitement," as he recalled in his autobiography. While the McDonald brothers were satisfied with what they already had, Ray Kroc was always thinking of the next big thing. Convinced he was seeing it right before his eyes, Kroc convinced the two brothers to sell him the rights to build McDonald's franchises wherever he could. For slightly less than $3 million, a 52-year-old milkshake machine salesman had purchased the name and the concept that would soon enough make him rich and famous. He hadn't invented the idea of fast food, but he recognized a brilliant concept when he saw it.
