Who is the owner of mcdonalds

McDonald’s, in full McDonald’s Corporation, American fast-food chain that is one of the largest in the world, known for its hamburgers, especially its Big Macs. Company headquarters are in Chicago.

Ray Kroc

The first McDonald’s restaurant was opened in 1940 by brothers Maurice (“Mac”) and Richard McDonald in San Bernardino, California. It originally was a drive-in that offered a wide selection of items. However, in 1948 the brothers decided to revamp the business, and after a three-month renovation, a newly envisioned McDonald’s opened. The small restaurant was designed to produce huge quantities of food at low prices. To achieve this, the brothers limited the menu—which only featured hamburgers, potato chips (later replaced by french fries), drinks, and pie—and developed a simple, efficient format that they named the Speedee Service System. This included a self-service counter that eliminated the need for waiters and waitresses, and customers received their food quickly because hamburgers were cooked ahead of time, wrapped, and warmed under heat lamps. These innovations allowed the brothers to charge just 15 cents for a basic hamburger, about half the price of competing restaurants. McDonald’s was a huge success, and the brothers began a franchise program.

Appliances for McDonald’s were purchased from a salesman named Ray Kroc, who was intrigued by their need for eight malt and shake mixers. In 1954 he visited the restaurant to see how a small shop could sell so many milk shakes. Realizing there was great promise in their restaurant concept, Kroc became a franchise agent for the brothers. In April 1955 Kroc launched McDonald’s Systems, Inc., later known as McDonald’s Corporation, in Des Plaines, Illinois, and there he also opened the first McDonald’s franchise east of the Mississippi River. In 1961 Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers.

Realizing that franchisees were vital to the company’s success, Kroc developed exacting standards for how each McDonald’s should be run, from food preparation to cleaning. To ensure the standardized operation of the outlets, he created (1961) a program, later known as Hamburger University, to train franchisees. In addition, he eventually changed the format of the restaurants, adding counter staff to take orders, and in 1975 a McDonald’s in Arizona opened the chain’s first drive-through window, a feature that soon became ubiquitous.

McDonald's: Ronald McDonald

During this time McDonald’s also introduced three features that would define its brand and further public recognition. First, in 1963, the public face of the company was introduced, a clown named Ronald McDonald; however, criticism over marketing to children and the growing negative perception of clowns resulted in the company largely sidelining the character in the early 21st century. Perhaps the most notable addition occurred in 1968, when McDonald’s added the Big Mac to its national menu; the iconic hamburger went on to reportedly become the company’s top-selling item after french fries. In addition, during the 1960s the chain refined its logo, eventually debuting the famous double-arch M design, which became its enduring symbol and one of the most famous logos in the world; it was inspired by the tall yellow arches that had dominated earlier McDonald’s restaurant rooftops.

These changes helped spurred McDonald’s growth. In less than 10 years after Kroc became the sole owner of McDonald’s, the number of the chain’s outlets topped 1,000. Boosted by these numbers, the company’s stock began trading publicly in 1965.

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