In this episode of This Week in Wall Street History, Todd M. Schoenberger explores why April 15, 1955 marks a seismic shift in fast-food—and corporate—history. On that day, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. It wasn’t the original McDonald brothers’ restaurant, but it became the engine behind the global powerhouse we know today. Learn how the revolutionary assembly-line Speedee system, franchising model, and iconic Golden Arches all started here—sparking an expansion that changed American culture and capitalism forever.

On April 15, 1955, Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois—kickstarting what would become the McDonald's Corporation. By that first day, sales hit $366.12 (about $4,300 today). Kroc's vision and standardized model fueled exponential growth—by the early 1960s, McDonald’s had hundreds of locations, and by the 1970s, it was a global phenomenon.

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