Ray Kroc was an American businessman, best known for expanding McDonald’s from a local chain to the world’s most profitable restaurant franchise operation.

Kroc died of heart failure on 14th January 1984 at the age of eight one and was buried at El Camino Memorial Park in Sorrento Valley, San Diego.

Ray Kroc’s net worth

At the age of eighty-one, Kroc died of heart failure in a hospital in San Diego, California on January 14, 1984. Joan Kroc, his wife, received his fortune, which was estimated to be worth $600 million at the time of his death. McDonald’s had 7,500 stores in 31 countries and was valued $8 billion at the time of Kroc’s death.

Early life and Education Of Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc was born as Raymond Albert Kroc in Oak Park, Illinois, the U.S. on 5th October 1902. He belonged to white-American ethnicity & held an American nationality.

Kroc is the eldest child of his parents, Rose Mary and Alois “Louis” Kroc who were of Czech origin. He had two younger siblings; Robert & Lorraine.

Kroc studied at the Lincoln School in Oak Park. During the time, he excelled in debates, showing a knack for being able to convince people easily. He also went to Grammar school. At that time, he began earning extra cash by doing odd jobs at the grocery or drugstores.

Ray Kroc’s Career

In 1916, at the age of fourteen, Ray Kroc, along with two of his friends, opened a music store, Ray Kroc Music Emporium where his friends sold sheet music while he played the piano. However, it was closed down after a few months. Kroc then worked for a few months at his uncle’s soda fountain, where he further honed his salesmanship.

In 1919, at the age of seventeen, Kroc started his career in sales, supplementing his income as a pianist at the nightclub or as a DJ at the local radio station. Subsequently, Kroc held a series of jobs, selling everything from real estate in Fort Lauderdale to feminine accessories & embellishments.

Young, ambitious & hardworking, Kroc traveled over the country, selling paper cups. Kroc secured exclusive marketing rights to a mixing company and at the age of thirty-one, gave up his comfortable employment to start Prince Castle Sales. Initially, the response was good, selling 8000 mixers in a year.

Opening McDonald s

In the year 1954, although the situation was pretty dismal, Kroc discovered that one restaurant in San Bernardino continued to order his mixers in the big number.

Curious, Kroc came & found it to be a drive-in restaurant with no indoor-sitting options, managed by two brothers, Richard & Maurice McDonald.

In 1965, Kroc became President of McDonald’s & established a training program for franchises owners, emphasizing standardization of procedures and automation.

Kroc imposed tight standards about the size of each product, cooking technique, packaging, and more. So that McDonald Hamburger’s taste the same all around the country.

Kroc served as the President of McDonald’s until 1968. Following that, he became Chairman of the Board, a position he held until 1977. Finally, from 1977 until his death in January 1984, Kroc served as the company’s Senior Chairman.

Personal life and legacy of Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc was married three times throughout his life. In 1922, he married Ethel Fleming, his high school sweetheart, and they produced a daughter, Marilyn Kroc. In 1961, the couple divorced.

Kroc married Jane Dobbins Green, a secretary, for the second time in 1963, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1968. Kroc was afflicted with diabetes and arthritis. He was also a boozehound. Kroc was sent to a rehabilitation hospital for his drinking in 1980 after having a stroke.