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Who Owns McDonald's? A Comprehensive History of the Popular Fast-Food Chain

Published: 08-07-23 Category: General CRE

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If there's one brand you can count on virtually everyone in the world to know, it's McDonald's. Those iconic golden arches have been at the forefront of virtually every fast-food innovation (and controversy) in the past 70 years.

With global annual revenues of over $23 billion, McDonald's still remains to be the undisputed king of the fast-food world thanks to its real estate-focused approach to expansion.

But what's the story behind the largest fast-food chain in the world? Where did it start, and how did it become a global symbol of American consumerism? Let's take a look at the fascinating history of this financial and cultural juggernaut.

Early Years and the McDonald Brothers (1930s–1950s)

The story of McDonald's starts with brothers Richard (“Dick”) and Maurice (“Mac”) McDonald back in the 1930s in California. At the time, the brothers worked at Columbia Studios as set movers. After saving for a while, the brothers bought a theater, which they later sold and used the money to open a small restaurant called the “Airdrome.”

The brothers leveraged their success at the Airdrome to open another restaurant in San Bernadino in 1940 called “McDonald's Famous Barbecue”—the very first iteration of the iconic brand. The carhop service quickly became a popular local food spot among drivers.

In the early 1950s, the brothers consolidated their menu down to just nine items and introduced a streamlined assembly system to increase order capacity and meet demand from increasing car ownership. During this time, the restaurant established its iconic golden arches and became famous for its cheap, delicious cheeseburgers and crispy, golden french fries.

Ray Kroc and Franchise Expansion (1954–1965)

In 1954, entrepreneur and appliance salesman Ray Kroc approached the McDonald's brothers with plans to take the McDonald's franchise nationwide. Although initially skeptical, the brothers eventually gave Kroc the rights to open McDonald's franchises across the country. Kroc opened his first franchised McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois on April 15, 1955.

Although the McDonald brothers created the brand, Ray Kroc is arguably the man who made McDonald's what it is today. Along with Harry Sonneborn, Kroc came up with the genius idea of McDonald's owning and leasing the real estate where franchises operated, passing mortgage and loan costs on to the individual franchisees. The company still uses this franchising model to this day.

By the 1960s, McDonald's locations were generating more than $55 million in annual revenue. A significant portion of this growth was due to the postwar boom in car manufacturing and driver expansion. Kroc bought the company from the McDonald brothers in 1961 and took it public in 1965.

A Global Phenomenon (1965–1990s)

Over the next 30 years, McDonald's expanded and cemented itself as an international brand, with locations opening in:

Canada;
Mexico;
Australia;
Japan;
Netherlands;
Germany;
France;
Sweden; and
The UK.

It was during this expansion that McDonald's established many famous menu mainstays, such as the Big Mac and Filet-O-Fish. In 1972, the company managed to crack $1 billion in global sales from over 2,200 locations.

In the 1980s, McDonald's had become a veritable American cultural icon but was not without controversy. Detractors criticized the nutritional quality of the food and the company's environmental and safety practices. Most famously, McDonald's had the infamous “hot coffee” lawsuit, in which a woman sued the company after sustaining third-degree burns from overheated McDonald's coffee.

Ray Kroc passed away from old age in 1984 at the age of 81. In 1990, McDonald's opened its first location in Moscow, Russia—a culturally significant event that has come to somewhat symbolize the end of the Cold War in the American consciousness. The Moscow McDonald's reportedly served over 30,000 customers on its first day.

2000s to Present

By the turn of the millennium, McDonald's had been expanding its holdings by purchasing various companies, such as Boston Market and Chipotle. At the same time, the company had been diversifying its offerings through ventures such as the McCafe.

By this point, McDonald's had been on the receiving end of several criticisms related to the nutritional quality of its food and its public image. The company began rebranding to project a more “mature” image by changing its color/logo scheme and phasing out its McDonaldland mascots, such as Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, and Grimace. Marketing also became more conscious of promoting newer, healthier menu options.

McDonald's had fully transitioned to its more adult-oriented presentation by 2016, but the company didn't quite have the market dominance it once did. Sales have been somewhat volatile for the past few years, and sales took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who Owns McDonald's Today?

Who Owns McDonald's? A Comprehensive History of the Popular Fast-Food Chain

Being a publicly traded company, McDonald's is owned by its shareholders, with institutional investors owning about 70% of its shares. Individual investors only own about 0.31% of total shares. The two largest shareholders of the McDonald's Corporation are the Vanguard Group and SSgA Funds Management, which own about 8.8% and 4.7% of outstanding shares, respectively.

The current president and CEO of McDonald's Corporation is Christopher Kempczinski, who has been president and CEO since 2019. The previous president & CEO was Steven Easterbrook.

McDonald's Fast Facts

Below are some fast and interesting facts about the fast-food giant that really put its dominance into perspective.

McDonald's serves over 69 million customers across the world every day.
The company generated over $23 billion in annual revenue in 2022—$13.7 billion of which were profits.
McDonald's employees over 200,000 employees across its food locations and corporate offices.
McDonald's operates in over 100 countries across the world.
McDonald's international presence is largest in China and Japan, which have roughly 3,500 and 2,900 locations, respectively.
French fries are the single most popular menu item and 9 million pounds of fries are sold every day.
McDonald's sells more toys annually with its Happy Meals than either Hasbro or Mattel.
McDonald's owns more than $30 billion in real estate, making it one of the largest real estate companies in the world.

McDonald's is still highly profitable, but not completely unassailable anymore. Specifically, there have been tensions brewing between corporate and franchisees for several years. However, sales numbers keep rising and stores keep opening, so McDonald's doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

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