McDonalds Millionaires: There Are a Ton of Them!

McDonalds has been in the news a lot recently because of declining sales and its effort to re-invigorate the brand and regain its footing in the global food sales market. In addition to being in the real estate business with properties all over the world, McDonalds is also in the millionaire making business. You didn’t know that? Neither did I!

When Ray Kroc initially founded McDonalds, I’m pretty sure he didn’t realize that his long-term legacy would be not only as a tastemaker, but as a wealth builder for thousands of people. Through creating a consistent product, focusing on quality, and having high standards of cleanliness, McDonalds distinguished itself as a trendsetter early in its history.

Ultimately though, McDonalds is a business of franchises. In this business model there is a set of qualifying standards in order to become a franchise owner. While right now may be a shaky time for McDonalds, its long-term focus on insuring that its franchise owners are in good financial shape prior to purchasing a franchise has created a number of unexpected millionaires.

In fact, through franchise ownership McDonalds more than any other company in the U.S. has helped nurture and grow the largest number of Hispanic and black millionaires according to George Will at the Washington Post. These millionaires are leaving a lasting legacy within their communities where they live, work, and employ people.

Women have also capitalized on their relationship with McDonalds and built their own wealth. One such woman is Cordelia Harrington who was a franchise owner of several McDonalds restaurants, and then launched a business that sold baked goods to businesses such as McDonalds. This business relationship is described in a recent issue of People.com.

There are also a large number of millionaires who got their start working at McDonalds and then identified and grew their wealth in other careers. There is a long list of millionaires who started off at McDonalds at minimum wage, including:

• • Jay Leno
• • Carl Lewis
• • Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon)
• • Rachel McAdams
• • James Franco

McDonalds has shown that it has long been a valuable stepping stone towards long-term entrepreneurship and business related skills. Even for those individuals who aren’t fast food lovers, one can’t deny McDonalds’ long-term appeal and importance in current business culture. McDonalds is a business that has not only distinguished itself with selling an enduring product. It has distinguished itself through the creation of long-term relationships with its client base, growing a real-estate business model, and teaching thousands of people how to work.

Only time will tell if McDonalds will be able to turn around its current problems with sales worldwide. With the introduction of competition and changing food tastes. McDonalds finds itself in the position of recreating its identity. Given McDonalds history to think creatively and introduce new business systems used all over the world, it’s just a matter of time before McDonalds regains its footing, adjusts to current market trends, and continues growing the millionaire class one person at a time.