Ray Kroc Trivia Questions

The Big Mac was created by franchisee Jim Delligatti in 1967, years after Kroc stepped back from daily operations. Kroc was a salesman, not a chef.

Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers' stake in 1961. As sellers, they were not employees to be fired; they left the company. They later lost the right to use the McDonald's name on their original restaurant.

The McDonald's chain was started by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940. Kroc only joined in 1954 as a franchise agent after being impressed by their milkshake machines.

Kroc actually graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in Illinois. He briefly attended college but left after one semester.

Kroc enjoyed drinking and owned the San Diego Padres baseball team, where beer was sold. Far from being a teetotaler, he had no issue with alcohol.

In the 1920s and '30s, Kroc played piano in nightclubs and even for a radio station. He later joked it helped him sell milkshake machines by entertaining clients.

Ray Kroc sold paper cups for Lily Tulip Cup Company for 17 years, earning a modest income, not a fortune. His wealth came later after founding McDonald's Corporation.

That location is indeed Kroc's first franchise, but it was demolished in 1984. A replica museum exists on the same site, but the original building is gone.