Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc was a milkshake-machine salesman who in 1954 discovered the McDonald brothers' fast-food restaurant in California and became its franchising agent. He drove a rapid national expansion built on standardised food, speed, and tight control of franchisees, and in 1961 bought out the brothers for 2.7 million dollars. He is widely reported to have squeezed the brothers hard in the deal, including over the rights to their name, a story dramatised in the film The Founder. Under Kroc, McDonald's grew into one of the most recognisable companies in the world, and its supply and real-estate model reshaped the fast-food industry. His approach made the franchise a defining form of the postwar American corporation.