Hello there, I'm a business and finance expert with a keen interest in the history and structure of major corporations. It's always fascinating to delve into the ownership and management of iconic brands like McDonald's, which has become a global household name.

When we talk about the ownership of McDonald's, it's important to distinguish between the corporate entity and the individual restaurants. McDonald's Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MCD. This means that the company's ownership is dispersed among a vast number of shareholders, including individual investors, institutional investors, and mutual funds.

The history of McDonald's is quite interesting. It was founded in 1940 by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, as a barbecue restaurant. However, it was Ray Kroc who transformed the small chain into the global phenomenon it is today. Ray Kroc joined the company in 1954 and opened the ninth McDonald's restaurant. Seeing the potential of the franchise model, he bought out the McDonald brothers in 1961 for $2.7 million and became the majority owner of the McDonald's Corporation.

After Ray Kroc's death in 1984, his wife Joan Kroc did not take over the company. Instead, the management and ownership continued to evolve as a publicly traded corporation. The CEO mentioned, Steve Easterbrook, was indeed the CEO of McDonald's Corporation from 2015 to 2019. However, as of my last update, Chris Kempczinski has been the President and CEO of McDonald's since 2019.

Regarding the majority shareholder, it's not accurate to pinpoint a single individual or entity as such. McDonald's, being a publicly traded company, has a diverse shareholder base. While there are certainly large institutional shareholders, the concept of a "majority shareholder" in the traditional sense does not apply to companies like McDonald's, which have a wide distribution of shares.

It's also worth noting that the term "publicly owned corporate entity" is a bit of a misnomer. While it's true that McDonald's is publicly traded and thus has many shareholders, the company itself is not "owned" by the public in the way that a government-owned entity might be. Instead, it's owned by its shareholders, who have varying degrees of influence depending on the number of shares they hold.

In terms of the individual restaurants, many are owned and operated by franchisees. McDonald's operates on a franchise model, where independent business owners operate restaurants under the McDonald's brand, following the company's guidelines and paying royalties and fees to McDonald's Corporation.

In conclusion, the ownership of McDonald's is a complex structure involving a publicly traded corporation with a diverse shareholder base and a network of franchisees who operate individual restaurants. The company's management is overseen by its board of directors and led by its CEO, with the current CEO being Chris Kempczinski as of my last update. The legacy of Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers continues to influence the brand, but the company's ownership and management have evolved significantly since its early days.

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McDonalds was owned by Ray Kroc, who died in 1984, then by his wife Joan. Now it's basically a public owned corporate entity. The CEO is Steve Easterbrook and the majority share holder is John W. Rogers.read more >>