The Founder

  1. The difference between the McDonald Brothers and Ray Kroc was business. Richard and Maurice McDonald did not have the same dreams of being big business men or turning the McDonalds restaurant into a global chain. They wanted to run one efficient and effective burger place they created with their own hands. Ray Kroc was a hustler and a businessman that was able to turn selling the brothers 8 milkshake machines into a 600 million dollar fortune at the time of his death. Essentially they both achieved there dreams with McDonald’s due to the success even though financially the advantage is clearly Ray Kroc.
  2. Yes I do believe the brothers did the right thing selling out to Ray Kroc in terms of allowing McDonald’s to be franchised across America. What the brothers did wrong in my opinion was the contract they drew up selling all rights over to Ray Kroc so they didn’t benefit from royalties or licensing fees. Ray Kroc did give them a fair deal at the time of the deal. The success of McDonald’s as a chain was done with the diligence Ray Kroc put in to ensure each restaurant served the same burger and fries and tasted exactly alike.
  3. The local store franchisees made money by selling the exact menu and recipe the Brothers provided. Ray Kroc funded the training and hiring of field consultants for each franchise meaning in the beginning each franchise and the brothers was making more then Ray.
  4. In the beginning stages Kroc made his money by franchising McDonald’s to his country club pals. It was different because Ray wasn’t hands on with running the store and faced the same issues the McDonald brothers did. The real money came when him and Harry Sonnenborn turned McDonald’s into a Real Estate Corporation leasing the land and the franchise undermining the brothers in the process. 
  5. No this does not change my views of McDonald’s. What started out as a burger joint for families turned into a corporation and money hungry empire behind its leader Ray Kroc.