Ray Kroc
...n his mid-fifties to make a lot of money, he took the chance. Kroc bought out the small, family owned business from the McDonald brothers for 2.7 million dollars by way of many loans. He opened up the first franchise in 1954 in Des Plaines, Illinois. By 1960, there were over 200 McDonald’s restaurants all over the country. McDonalds had so much success that by 1966, it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange at 22 dollars a share. In 1967, the first McDonalds restaurants were opened in Canada and Puerto Rico. In the 1970’s McDonalds became involved with a lot of charity work, donating portions of its revenue to numerous charities before starting the “Ronald McDonald House” for ill children. In 1996, McDonalds signed a 10-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company so McDonalds restaurants popped up in Disney Parks. Even today, McDonalds has become a part of every day life. They claim to serve over 29 million people a day. Kroc had always felt that he should be able to get the same quality burger in whatever McDonalds he would go into, so the goods and services produced would always be the same and all the items on the menu would be the exact same wherever he would go. The menu items would mainly include french fries, milkshakes, and hamburgers. Kroc did not want to include hotdogs on his original menu because he said that you can never be sure what goes in them. From all the countries that the McDonalds franchise has opened up in, they still remain very successful in serving their entire consumer base. Ray Kroc utilized many of the econom...