Ray Kroc
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Ray Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American entrepreneur, famous for significantly expanding the McDonald's Corporation from 1955. He did not actually found the restaurant chain itself, however; it was started by Dick and Maurice (Mac) McDonald in 1940.[citation needed] Dubbed the Hamburger King[citation needed], Kroc was included in the TIME 100 list of the world's most influential builders and titans of industry and amassed a $500 million fortune during his lifetime.[citation needed] Kroc was of Czech ancestry and was survived by his third wife, Joan B. Kroc. He was also once the owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team starting in 1974.[citation needed]
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[edit] Early life
Kroc was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1902 and he trained to become an ambulance driver during the First World War with Walt Disney, though the war ended before Kroc ever saw any action. He was a piano player. Kroc found out how to make a burger stand when he saw one. He tried his hand at a number of trades including paper cup salesman and piano player, between the end of the war and the early 1950s. He eventually became a Multi-mixer milkshake machine salesman traveling across the country peddling his wares. It was this work which led him to the two brothers, Mac (Maurice) and Dick (Richard) MacDonald, at their innovative San Bernardino, California hamburger restaurant. Ray Kroc and his inventions, as well as his franchise have made fast food history. He died on January 14, 1984.
[edit] Quotations
- “If you're not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.”
- “The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it”
- “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”
- “You're only as good as the people you hire.”
- “If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.”
- “We have found out… that we cannot trust some people who are nonconformists… We will make conformists out of them… The organization cannot trust the individual; the individual must trust the organization.”[1]
- “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean,” is said to have been Kroc's favorite saying.
- "Not all that are wandering are lost; just missing at the moment."
- "The first dollar is the most you will get if you dont love what you are doing."
- "Take calculated risks. Act boldly and thoughtfully. Be an agile company."
[edit] Memorials
Has a school and a commmunity center named after him in San Diego, California.
[edit] Notes
- The Mark Knopfler song Boom, Like That (found on his 2004 album Shangri-La) tells Ray Kroc's story written from his point of view ("You gentlemen ought to expand / you're going to need a helping hand, now / so, gentlemen, well, what about me? / We'll make a little business history"). The song references and uses several quotes from Kroc's autobiography ("Competition? Send 'em south / If they're gonna drown / put a hose in their mouth" in the last verse, "dog eat dog / rat eat rat" in the chorus) and even mentions Kroc's name in the chorus.
[edit] External links
- Obituary, New York Times, January 15, 1984 Ray Kroc Dies at 81; Built McDonald's Chain
- TIME Magazine profile
- Biography resources dedicated to Ray Kroc
Categories: Articles lacking sources from March 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | American entrepreneurs | Fast-food chain founders | McDonald's people | Baseball executives | San Diego Padres | People from Illinois | People from Oak Park, Illinois | Czech-Americans | 1902 births | 1984 deaths
