Ray A. Kroc
1902-1984)
Founder
McDonald's Corporation
"None of us is as good as All of Us"
Ray Kroc
We take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else,"
Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's Corporation said, explaining McDonald's
success. His dedication to strict standards -- his diligence in providing
customers with consistent quality, service, cleanliness and value -- and
his innovative use of cooking techniques prompted a Harvard Business
School professor to describe him as "the service sector's equivalent of
Henry Ford."
At age 52, Ray Kroc was the exclusive distributor for a company that
produced "multi-mixer" milkshake machines. Impressed by a small chain
of hamburger restaurants based in San Bernardino, California that used the
multi-mixers, Ray acquired franchising rights from the owners, the McDonald
brothers. He then founded McDonald's Corporation in 1955. In 1961, he bought
out the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million and borrowed at interest rates that
eventually made the cost $14 million.
Under Ray Kroc's leadership, McDonald's set standards against which other
chains were measured. He created an enterprise comprised of thousands of
small businesses, run by independent franchisees that own and operate
approximately 85 percent of McDonald's restaurants. "If you work just for money,
you'll never make it," Mr. Kroc often said, "but if you love what you're doing and
you always put the customer first, success will be yours."
Ray Kroc served as chairman of McDonald's
Corporation from its founding in 1955
until 1977, when he was named senior
chairman of McDonald's Corporation in 1977.
In his later years, Kroc -- a lifelong
baseball fan -- also became prominent in the
world of sports. He purchased the San
Diego Padres baseball franchise in 1974.
Through the years, Ray was involved in
charitable activities addressing diabetes,
arthritis, multiple sclerosis and chemical
dependency.
Kroc has been the recipient of many prestigious
awards, including the Horatio Alger
Award (1972), The Presidential
Star (1972) and American of the Year (1973)
presented by Lions International. He
was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame
in 1988.