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You don't know the McDonald brothers, Dick and Maurice. But you certainly know Ray Kroc. It is Kroc-and obviously not the McDonald brothers-who will forever be known as the genius behind the McDonald's hamburger empire.
When Kroc first encountered the McDonalds, he was a blender salesman and the McDonald brothers were one of his best clients. The McDonald brothers succeeded by applying assembly line efficiencies to their kitchens, allowing them to produce meals both quickly and inexpensively. While the McDonald brothers seemed content to enjoy success on a relatively small scale, Kroc had other ideas.
Kroc convinced the brothers to allow him to be the exclusive seller of McDonald's franchises. Kroc was so successful in this endeavor that he was able to purchase the entire business from the McDonald brothers in 1961 for the bargain price of $2.7 million.
By 1963, there were already 500 restaurants and the franchise sold its billionth hamburger. By the time the 1960s had come to an end, McDonald's was selling 3.5 million hamburgers a day and had topped the 5 billion burger mark.
Today, there are over 30,000 McDonald's in well over 100 countries. Kroc summed up his success in this way:
"The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it."
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