Key ideas from Ray Kroc

• Ray Kroc was 52 years old and selling milkshake machines when he discovered McDonald's - 'I was an overnight success, all right, but 30 years is a long night' - Ray
• The McDonald brothers invented the system but Ray saw the bigger picture: 'Visions of McDonald's restaurants dotting crossroads all over the country paraded through my brain' - Ray
• McDonald's real business model was real estate, not food - 'We are not basically in the food business. We're in the real estate business' - Harry Sonborn
• Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million in 1960, paying it off by 1999 while that half-percent is now worth billions
• The Filet-O-Fish, Big Mac, and Egg McMuffin were all invented by franchisees, not corporate headquarters
• McDonald's went public in 1965 at $22.50 per share, reaching $50 by month's end, making Kroc incredibly wealthy
• Hamburger University trained tens of thousands in the McDonald's system, awarding degrees in 'Hamburgerology with a minor in French fries'
• By Kroc's death in 1984, McDonald's had nearly 8,000 restaurants worldwide with annual sales approaching $9 billion