what happened to ray kroc's first wife

What Happened to Ray Kroc’s First Wife? The Untold Story. Ethel Fleming spent the rest of her life away from the public eye and eventually died on December 26, 1965, in Miami, Florida, USA, due to natural causes. It was a day after her 75th birthday. There are no details about the fortune she left behind or how it was distributed.

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How many wives did Ray Kroc have during his life?

When he died of heart failure at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California, on January 14, 1984, McDonald's had 7,500 restaurants across nearly 3 dozen countries and was worth $8 billion. Kroc was married to his first wife, Ethel Fleming, from 1922 to 1961.

Was Ray Kroc ever married?

Ray Kroc, the notorious business tycoon was married to his first wife, Ethel Fleming for nearly four decades when he saw his third wife, Joan Kroc for the first time. Kroc was a philanthropist who donated most of Ray’s fortune following his death. Ray was 52 while Joan was 28 at the time of their first meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1957.

Where did Ray Kroc meet his first wife?

When Ray Kroc met Joan Beverly Smith in a Minnesota piano bar one night in 1957, he was instantly smitten. No matter that he was 25 years her senior, or that they were both married to other people, or that he was still hustling franchises for a fast-food hamburger stand owned by two other guys. Eventually his business acumen transformed McDonald’s into an international sensation, and a dozen years after they met he convinced her to marry him, with a called-off engagement and divorce filing ...

Did Ray Kroc ever have kids?

Marilyn Janet Kroc was the only known child of Raymond Albert Kroc, a key player behind McDonald’s restaurants’ success. She was fondly called ‘Lynn,’ drawn from her first name and her second name from her mother. The question “Who is Marilyn Kroc?” instantly moves one to search for satisfying answers.

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Did Ray Kroc marry his friends wife?

Joan Beverly Kroc (née Mansfield, previously Smith; August 27, 1928 – October 12, 2003), also known as Joni, was an American philanthropist and third wife of McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc....Joan KrocSpouse(s)Rawland F. Smith ​ ​ ( m. 1945; div. 1969)​ Ray Kroc ​ ​ ( m. 1969; died 1984)​Children15 more rows

Who inherited Ray Kroc's fortune?

Ray Kroc was worth $600 million when he died in 1984 of heart failure. When he died, his fortune went to his third wife, Joan, who was estimated to be worth $3 billion when she died back in 2003. Joan put in her will that all of the McDonald's fortune would be given away to charity when she died.

What happened to Joan Kroc first husband?

Joan had $15 million of her husband's foundation money at her disposal, and their beautiful ranch. She named her alcohol education efforts Operation Cork (Kroc spelled backward). Ray Kroc died on Jan. 14, 1984, when he was 81.07-Jan-2017

How much did Ray Kroc's wife get?

While many are familiar with the story of the man who made the McDonald's fortune, most have not heard about the woman who gave most of that money away. Joan Kroc, Ray's third wife, an erstwhile cocktail pianist, inherited $500 million when Ray died in 1984 — and donated millions when she died two decades later.12-Jan-2017

Did Ray Kroc's first wife get money?

Upon her death in 2003, her remaining $2.7 billion estate was distributed among a number of nonprofit organizations, including $1.5 billion donation to The Salvation Army to build 26 Kroc Centers, along with a $200 million donation to National Public Radio as she believed deeply in the power of public radio.

Did Ray Kroc steal McDonalds?

Did Ray Kroc's deal to buy out the brothers really not include the original McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino? Yes. Kroc wasn't aware that the agreement excluded the original restaurant, but the McDonald brothers insisted it did.

What did Ray Kroc do before mcdonalds?

In 1917, 15-year-old Ray Kroc lied about his age to join the Red Cross as an ambulance driver, but the war ended before he completed his training. He then worked as a piano player, a paper cup salesman and a Multimixer salesman.

How Ray Kroc took over McDonald's?

Following the advice of Harry J. Sonneborn, who became McDonald's Corp.'s first president, Kroc set up a system in which the company purchased and leased land to new franchises. Sonneborn also helped secure a $2.7 million loan that enabled Kroc to purchase the company outright from the McDonald brothers in 1961.29-Aug-2017

Did Ray Kroc have children?

Marilyn Kroc BargRay Kroc / Children

Did Joan Kroc leave her daughter money?

Joan of the Arches” (as in the golden arches of the McDonald's burger chain), I didn't feel embarrassed for them. Here was a stunningly beautiful, kindhearted woman who inherited $3 billion from her late husband and gave much of it — if not most of it — to needy charities, preferably secretly.02-Nov-2016

How old was Ray Kroc when he founded McDonald's?

52There are a few plot twists, of course, including the fact that it took Ray Kroc more than half a century to dream his American dream. He was 52 when, on this day, April 15, 60 years ago, he opened his first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, Ill.15-Apr-2015

Did Ray Kroc pay the 1 royalty?

Kroc's payment of $2.7 million was roughly 13.5x the royalties, a princely sum for a private company in 1961. And, real money in those days.21-Jun-2017

What happened to Ray Kroc's first wife?

What happened to Ray Kroc first wife? In 1980, following a stroke, Kroc entered an alcohol rehabilitation facility. Kroc's first two marriages to Ethel Fleming (1922–1961) and Jane Dobbins Green (1963–1968) ended in divorce. His third wife, Joan Kroc, was a philanthropist who significantly increased her charitable contributions after Kroc's death.

Who was Ray Kroc's third wife?

His third wife, Joan Kroc, was a philanthropist who significantly increased her charitable contributions after Kroc's death. Click to see full answer. Beside this, who was Ray Kroc's first wife?

What happened to the original McDonald's owners?

Also Know, what happened to original McDonald's owners? Ray Kroc tore into Richard and Maurice McDonald when they demanded $2.7 million for their company in 1961.

Who is Ray and Joan?

Ray and Joan, by former New York Times technology reporter Lisa Napoli, is a thorough, careful look at the complicated romance that drove the brand. Napoli spoke to MEL about fast love, fast food and fast fortunes.

What did Joan and Ray like?

They liked music, and piano playing, smoking cigarettes, drinking. They loved McDonald’s. Even before Joan left Rollie to go ultimately live with Ray, she was so high on McDonald’s that she met people and would say, “McDonald’s is great, you gotta buy in.”. She had seen it from the ground up.

Why did Joan go through divorce?

When Joan reneged, he just went through the divorce anyway because he couldn’t be back in the old situation with [first wife] Ethel. That’s actually pretty honest. If he were dishonest, he’d have gone back, and said, “Oops, my lover has reneged and I can’t be alone.”.

Did Ray and Joan run into each other?

Even though Ray wasn’t rich when he married her and was still struggling, he was on this path and she fit that new persona. But eventually he and Joan run into each other at a convention, and pretty soon after he just up and leaves the second wife the night before a cruise for their fifth anniversary.

Who is Ray Kroc?

Ray Kroc. Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman. He purchased the fast food company McDonald's in 1961 and served as its CEO from 1967 to 1973. Kroc is credited with the global expansion of McDonald's, turning it into the most successful fast food corporation in the world.

What did Ray Kroc do in World War 1?

Ray Kroc grew up and spent most of his early life in Oak Park. During World War I, he lied about his age and became a Red Cross ambulance driver at the age of 15 years old, alongside Walt Disney. The war, however, ended shortly after he enlisted.

How much did Kroc donate to Nixon?

Kroc donated $255,000 to Richard Nixon 's reelection campaign in 1972, and was controversially accused by some, notably Senator Harrison Williams, of making the donation to influence Nixon to veto a minimum wage bill making its way through Congress.

What is Kroc's role in the food service industry?

Kroc has been credited with making a number of innovative changes in the food-service franchise model. Chief among them was the sale of only single-store franchises instead of selling larger, territorial franchises which was common in the industry at the time.

When did Kroc retire from McDonald's?

Kroc retired from running McDonald's in 1974. While he was looking for new challenges, he decided to get back into baseball, his lifelong favorite sport, when he learned that the San Diego Padres were for sale. The team had been conditionally sold to Joseph Danzansky, a Washington, D.C. grocery-chain owner, who planned to move the Padres to Washington. However, the sale was tied up in lawsuits when Kroc purchased the team for $12 million, keeping the team in San Diego. In Kroc's first year of ownership in 1974 , the Padres lost 102 games, yet drew over one million in attendance, the standard of box office success in the major leagues during that era. Their previous top attendance was 644,772 in 1972. The San Diego Union said Kroc was "above all, a fan of his team".

Where was Ray Kroc's first McDonald's?

Ray Kroc's first ( McDonald's ninth) restaurant, which opened April 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois, US. After World War II, Kroc found employment as a milkshake mixer salesman for the foodservice equipment manufacturer Prince Castle. When Prince Castle Multi-Mixer sales plummeted because of competition from lower-priced Hamilton Beach products, ...

Does Kroc allow McDonald's to open in downtown?

Kroc's policies for McDonald's included establishing locations only in suburban areas; restaurants were not allowed to build in downtown and urban areas since more impoverished residents might break in and enter after the main business hours were over.

What was Joan Kroc's goal?

Joan Kroc began with her charity works in 1976 when she launched Operation Cork in California with the aim of informing medical practitioners about the risk of alcohol use disorder. After the death of her husband, she sold their professional baseball club, San Diego Padres which she co-owned with Kroc and used the proceeds from the sales to sponsor many charitable works. Before selling the franchise, Joan, who was gifted with a magnanimous spirit, wanted to give the club to the city of San Diego but her actions were restricted by the rules of the Major League Baseball which prohibit ownership of a team by the public.

Where was Ray Kroc's wife born?

Ray Kroc’s wife made her arrival into the world in West St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. She was born as Joan Beverly Mansfield to her parents, Charles Smart Mansfield and Gladys Bonneville Mansfield on 27th August 1928. Her father worked as a salesperson and store manager while her mother was an instrumentalist and music instructor who attended MacPhail School of Music where she studied Music.

Is Joan Kroc in the Hall of Fame?

As a result of her works in the society, Joan Kroc was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame of San Diego County Women in the year 2004. Later in 2009, she was appointed as one of California’s Hall of Famers. In addition, many institutions are named after her and they include Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center for the Homeless and others.

Who is Joan Kroc?

Joan Kroc is a rare gem who beautifully touched several lives through her benevolent deeds. Aside from gaining recognitions through her works which spoke volumes of her great personality, she was also known as the third wife of the business magnate, Raymond Albert “Ray” Kroc, who contributed hugely in making McDonald’s the most successful fast-food corporation in the world. Following the death of her husband in 1984, Joan inherited so much wealth which she eventually gave up for charity purposes at the time of her demise. Get to learn more about the prestigious philanthropist below.

Overview

Personal life and death

The Kroc Foundation supported research, treatment and education about various medical conditions, such as alcoholism, diabetes, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. It is best known for establishing the Ronald McDonald House, a nonprofit organization that provides free housing for parents close to medical facilities where their children are receiving treatment.
In 1973, Kroc received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

Early life

Developing and purchasing McDonald's

Baseball

In popular culture

See also

Further reading