Ray Kroc

Also known as Raymond Albert Kroc, Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc, Ray A. Kroc, Raymond A. Kroc

American businessman

OverviewAI-generated

Raymond Albert Kroc was an American restaurateur, businessperson, writer, and salesperson. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, on October 5, 1902, he was a member of the Republican Party. He worked for McDonald's and the American Red Cross, with his professional career beginning in 1954. His areas of work included entrepreneurship and fast food restaurants.

Kroc was married to Joan Kroc and resided in Oak Park. He authored works such as *Grinding It Out* and *San shi nian shi yi bei*. He died of cardiac arrest due to natural causes in San Diego on January 14, 1984.

Synthesized by Vinony from 28 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: 1902
Died: 1984
Works: 3

Top works

San shi nian shi yi bei
Grinding it out
Grinding It Out

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Oak Park, Illinois, USA

Was an American businessman. He purchased the fast food company McDonald's in 1961 and was its CEO from 1967 to 1973. Kroc is credited with the global expansion of McDonald's, turning it into the most successful fast food corporation in the world. After retiring from McDonald's, he owned the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1974 until his death in 1984.

Known for

Nineteen Summers: San Diego Padres 1969-19881988

via TMDB

Key facts

Born: Raymond Albert Kroc , ( 1902-10-05 ) October 5, 1902, Oak Park, Illinois , U.S.
Died: January 14, 1984 (1984-01-14) (aged 81), San Diego , California, U.S.
Resting place: El Camino Memorial Park
Spouses: Ethel Fleming ( married"}]]}'>m. 1922 ; divorced"}]]}'>div. 1961 ) Jane Dobbins Green ( married"}]]}'>m. 1963 ; divorced"}]]}'>div. 1968 ) Joan Smith ( married"}]]}'>m. 1969 )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Oak Park
Place of death: San Diego
Spouse: Joan Kroc
Occupation: entrepreneur
Employer: American Red Cross
Political party: Republican Party (United States)
Field of work: fast food restaurant
Image: Ray Kroc 1976.jpg
Residence: Oak Park

Show 10 more facts

date of birth: 1902-10-05
date of death: 1984-01-14
cause of death: cardiac arrest
manner of death: natural causes
name in kana: レイモンド・アルバート・クロック
birth name: Raymond Albert Kroc
start of work period: 1954-00-00
Commons category: Ray Kroc
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
name in native language: Raymond Kroc

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~15 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman who was instrumental in turning McDonald's into the most successful global fast food corporation by revenue. He purchased the brand from the McDonald Brothers in 1961, after several years as their franchising agent, and served as the leader of the company until his death.

Kroc was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and worked a variety of jobs, including as a paper cup salesman and a musician, before eventually becoming a milkshake mixer salesman. In 1954, he visited a hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California, owned by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Kroc was impressed with the efficiency and speed of the restaurant's operations, and he convinced the brothers to allow him to franchise the concept.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ray Kroc” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.