Kroc, Ray

Kroc, Ray

▪ American businessman
byname of  Raymond Albert Kroc  
born October 5, 1902, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
died January 14, 1984, San Diego, California
 American restaurateur and a pioneer of the fast-food industry with his worldwide McDonald's (McDonald's Corporation) enterprise.

      At age 15 Kroc lied about his age in order to join the Red Cross ambulance service on the front lines of World War I. He was sent to Connecticut for training, where he met fellow trainee Walt Disney (Disney, Walt), but the war ended before Kroc could be sent into service overseas. Kroc then returned to Chicago and held various jobs throughout the 1920s and '30s, including jazz pianist, real-estate salesman, and paper-cup salesman for Lily-Tulip Cup Co. In the early 1940s he became the exclusive distributor for the “multimixer,” a blender that could simultaneously mix five milk shakes. In 1954 he visited a restaurant in San Bernardino, California, that used eight of his mixers. The restaurant was owned by two brothers, Maurice and Richard McDonald, who used an assembly-line format to prepare and sell a large volume of hamburgers, french fries, and milk shakes. Impressed by what he saw, Kroc decided to set up a chain of drive-in restaurants based on the McDonald brothers' format, and he agreed to pay the brothers a franchise fee based on gross receipts from the new restaurants.

 The first of Kroc's McDonald's restaurants was opened April 15, 1955, in Des Plaines, Illinois. After two more stores were opened that same year, gross sales amounted to $235,000. Kroc continued to expand McDonald's, selling franchises on the condition that owners manage their restaurants. He instituted a training program for owner-managers and continually emphasized the automation and standardization of McDonald's operations.

      By the time Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers in 1961 for a mere $2.7 million, he had established 228 restaurants and sales had reached $37 million. By the end of 1963 the company had sold more than one billion hamburgers, an achievement proudly advertised beneath its restaurants' trademark “golden arches.” At the time of Kroc's death in 1984, there were some 7,500 McDonald's outlets worldwide, and three-fourths were run by franchise holders.

      Kroc served as president of McDonald's from 1955 to 1968, as chairman of the board from 1968 to 1977, and as senior chairman from 1977 until his death. During his lifetime Kroc was an active supporter of numerous charitable organizations. From 1974 he was the owner of the San Diego Padres Major League Baseball team. The team was sold by his widow, Joan Kroc, in 1990.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Kroc, Ray(mond Albert) — born Oct. 5, 1902, Chicago, Ill., U.S. died Jan. 14, 1984, San Diego, Calif. U.S. restaurateur, a pioneer of the fast food industry. He was working as a blender salesman when he discovered a restaurant in San Bernardino, Calif., owned by Maurice… …   Universalium

  • Kroc, Ray(mond Albert) — (5 oct. 1902, Chicago, Ill., EE.UU.–14 ene. 1984, San Diego, Cal.). Ciudadano estadounidense dueño de restaurantes y pionero de la industria de comida al paso. Trabajaba como vendedor de licuadoras cuando descubrió en San Bernardino, Cal., un… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ray Kroc — Naissance 5 octobre 1902 Oak Park (Illinois) Décès 14 janvier  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ray Kroc — Ray Arthur Kroc (* 5. Oktober 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois; † 14. Januar 1984 in San Diego, Kalifornien) war Gründer der McDonald’s Corporation. Mit dem Spitznamen „the Hamburger King“ wurde Kroc in die „Liste der 100 einflussreichsten Personen des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kroc — Ray Arthur Kroc (* 5. Oktober 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois; † 14. Januar 1984 in San Diego, Kalifornien) war Gründer der McDonald’s Corporation. Mit dem Spitznamen „the Hamburger King“ wurde Kroc in die „Liste der 100 einflussreichsten Personen des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ray Kroc — [Ray Kroc] (1902–84) the American who developed McDonald s into the biggest ↑fast food restaurant company in the world. In 1955 he bought the company and its name from two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, who had one restaurant in San… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ray Kroc — Este artículo o sección necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicación acreditada, como revistas especializadas, monografías, prensa diaria o páginas de Internet fidedignas. Puedes añadirlas así o avisar …   Wikipedia Español

  • KROC — or Kroc may refer to:*KROC (AM), a radio station (1340 AM) licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, United States *KROC FM, a radio statio (106.9 FM) licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, United States *KTTC, a television station (channel 10) licensed to… …   Wikipedia

  • Ray (given name) — Ray is a given name, and may refer to:* Sugar Ray Leonard, Hall Of Fame boxer * Ray Allen, NBA player * Ray Bos, Chrash wrestling wrester * Ray Bradbury, science fiction writer * Ray Charles, musician * Ray Combs, game show host * Ray Davies,… …   Wikipedia

  • Ray Kroc — ➡ Kroc * * * …   Universalium

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