Ray Kroc’s name may be unfamiliar to you, but this American franchise magnate has established a reputation for himself that will go down in history. While Ray Kroc later owned the San Diego Padres baseball franchise, his riches, and name are connected with buying McDonald’s.
Can you estimate Ray Kroc’s net worth as the high-profile owner and CEO of McDonald’s? Continue reading to learn about his net worth and where his money is now.
Ray Kroc’s Net Worth
Ray Kroc was worth $600 million when he died of heart failure in 1984. His fortune passed to his third wife, Joan, who was reported to be worth $3 billion when she died in 2003. Joan stipulated in her will that when she died, the whole McDonald’s wealth would be donated to charity.
There’s a lot to learn about Ray Kroc and how he became so wealthy, so keep reading to find out more about one of the men behind McDonald’s.
What Happened to Ray Kroc’s Fortune After He Died?
Ray had three wives, and when he died, he was married to his third, Joan Kroc, who was worth $3 million. Upon her death in 2003, however, practically every penny of the McDonald’s money was donated to numerous charities, as the Kroc family was deeply interested in philanthropy and aiding the less fortunate. That fortune is now worth $18 billion based on McDonald’s current stock price!
At this time, no one in the Kroc family owns McDonald’s, and Chris Kempczinski is the company’s current president and CEO.
More About Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc was born on October 5, 1902, in Oak Park, Illinois, and began his career as a Red Cross Ambulance driver at the age of 15 during World War I. After the war, he worked at a variety of jobs, including playing the piano, selling paper cups, and even going into the real estate business in Florida.
In addition, he eventually found a job as a milkshake mixer salesman with Prince Castle, a food service equipment manufacturer. Selling milkshake mixers to Maurice and Richard McDonald, on the other hand, sparked his curiosity.
Ray lost his job when Hamilton Beach came calling, but in 1954, he went to see the McDonald brothers in San Bernardino, California, to see what they were all about. Ray Kroc then began a friendship with the brothers and became a partner in their McDonald’s business.
Furthermore, Ray Kroc created the first McDonald’s franchise location in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955, and he also worked as a franchise agent for the corporation.
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What Were Ray Kroc’s Initial Plans for McDonald’s?
With his leadership and innovative ideas, Ray Kroc is credited with helping McDonald’s become a national and eventually multinational fast-food chain restaurant. Ray devised the concept of selling franchises as a single store rather than selling a large territory for franchises all at once, which was novel and revolutionary at the time.
Furthermore, he believed that if huge regions were sold at once for development, the franchisor would not be able to oversee the development and direction of the chain as readily. Ray additionally met all of his responsibilities to the McDonald brothers by selling single-unit franchises, which allowed him to keep some influence over each franchisee.
Ray also had a vision for consistency in service and quality throughout all McDonald’s restaurants, which is why he sought some control over the franchisee.
What McDonald’s Policies Did Ray Kroc Implement?
Ray, as a businessman, understood that implementing certain regulations at McDonald’s would benefit the firm and aid in its expansion. Furthermore, he began by locating McDonald’s outlets solely in suburban areas, with no construction permitted in urban or downtown districts due to the socioeconomic condition of those populations.
Ray believed that poor people in the cities would steal from the enterprise and break into it when it was closed. Ray also felt that every restaurant should be sterilized on a regular basis and that all employees should be groomed and washed before going to work.
He also expected all employees to be courteous, especially to children. Ray, on the other hand, was not willing to accept terrible cuisine anyplace and made it a rule that all food be cooked and served the same way at every McDonald’s location.
Ray didn’t want any variations in the ingredients or the way the food was prepared, and he wanted everything to be uniform, no matter what it took. He also despised waste and demanded that every container in the store be empty and scraped clean.
Furthermore, regardless of what others requested, he made it a policy that McDonald’s would never have pinball games or cigarette machines inside any of its locations.
Ray Kroc Expands His Ideas Following McDonald’s Purchase
Ray implemented even more restrictions once he bought McDonald’s, such as meal portion amounts, cooking times, which foods to provide, and how the food would be prepared.
Furthermore, he was in control of McDonald’s packaging and refused to implement any cost-cutting measures that others tried to persuade him to implement.
Ray was enthusiastic about customer service and would make restaurants compensate clients if they had to wait more than 5 minutes for their food or if the order was incorrectly placed.
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Ray Kroc’s Retirement and Death
Ray left McDonald’s in 1974 to become the owner of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. Ray died of heart failure on January 14, 1984, at the age of 81, after battling alcoholism for several years.
