Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman who took over the (at the time) small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a $500 million fortune during his lifetime. He was also the owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team starting in 1974.

Kroc was born to parents of Czech origin in Chicago, Illinois, in 1902. He grew up in Oak Park, Ill. During the First World War he trained to become an ambulance driver though the war ended before he ever saw action. Between the end of the war and the early 1950s he tried his hand at a number of trades including paper-cup salesman, pianist, jazz musician, band member and worked at a Chicago radio station. At one time, Ray worked for room and board at one of Ray Dambaugh's (a restaurateur and known gambler with jimmy the greek) restaurants in the mid west to learn the restaurant business. He later returned the favor years later by coming to Ray Dambaugh's funeral in Evans City, Pa to say thanks. He eventually became a multi-mixer milkshake machine salesman, traveling across the country. This work introduced him to brothers Dick and Mac McDonald who had opened the first McDonald's restaurant in 1940, in San Bernardino, California. Their innovative hamburger restaurant ran eight multi-mixers at a time. The McDonald brothers began franchising in 1953.

Convinced that he could sell numerous mixers to every new restaurant that opened, he partnered with the brothers to open and franchise additional McDonald's restaurants. Kroc eventually became frustrated with the brothers' willingness to accept their chain having only a handful of restaurants. In 1961, he purchased the company from the brothers. The agreement was for the McDonald brothers to receive $2.7 million for the chain and to continue to receive an overriding royalty of 1.9% (when negotiating the contract the McDonald brothers said that 2% sounded greedy, 1.9% was much more attractive) on the gross sales.