Business · 2
According to the well-known account of Ray Kroc's career, which two brothers had built and operated the original restaurant whose franchise rights he purchased in 1954?
Answer
Richard and Maurice McDonald
Richard and Maurice McDonald ran a single, highly efficient hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California, that impressed Ray Kroc; he later bought the rights to franchise it nationwide.
💡 Did you know?
McDonald's founder Ray Kroc was 52 years old, working as a milkshake machine salesman, when he discovered the McDonald brothers' restaurant and bought the franchise rights.
Other options people guess
- Frank and Dan Carney
- Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson
- Forrest and Leroy Raffel
Topics
- mcdonalds
- franchising
- fast-food
- entrepreneurship
Know your business trivia?
Play a free Business quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.
More Business facts
Business
Which fast-food chain was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas, an adoptee who never finished high school?
Wendy's Dave Thomas was adopted and never finished high school, yet built a 6,800-restaurant empire starting from a single Ohio location in 1969.
Business
What kind of business arrangement did Ray Kroc secure with the McDonald brothers in 1954, rather than buying their restaurant outright?
McDonald's founder Ray Kroc was 52 years old, working as a milkshake machine salesman, when he discovered the McDonald brothers' restaurant and bought the franchise rights.
Business
Which fast-food chain reportedly earns more from leasing land and buildings to its franchisees than from selling food?
McDonald's real estate portfolio is worth more than its food business; the company makes billions annually just by leasing land to franchisees.
Business
According to eBay's well-known founding story, Pierre Omidyar built the site's first version in 1995 to help his girlfriend sell what collectible item?
eBay accidentally became a mega-company because its founder Pierre Omidyar built it to help his girlfriend sell Pez dispensers online.
Business
Why did Coca-Cola's parent company choose never to patent its secret formula?
Coca-Cola's secret formula was never patented because patents require public disclosure—keeping it private proved more valuable than legal protection.
Business
Which company was the target of the 1989 leveraged buyout so large that bankers had to invent new debt structures to finance it?
RJR Nabisco's 1989 leveraged buyout created $20 billion in debt—so massive that bankers had to invent new financial structures, permanently changing how Wall Street funds acquisitions.