from https://www.businessinsider.com/politicians-ceo-successful-people-who-worked-at-mcdonalds

8 successful CEOs, politicians, and more who started their careers
working at McDonald's
Sawdah Bhaimiya Nov 11, 2023, 5:28 AM PST
Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Billionaire Jeff Bezos started out flipping burgers at McDonald's.
He's among a group of successful people that have worked at the chain.
Many said they gained valuable life skills from this experience.
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Even the most successful people have to start their careers in somewhat unglamorous positions, and many of them were flipping burgers and
serving fries at McDonald's.

Many recall their time at the fast-food giant fondly saying it taught
them valuable skills that they retained throughout their careers.

Here are 8 successful people who started out at the fast food chain:

1. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos. Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images
The Amazon founder and former CEO is one of the most renowned business
leaders in the world and has amassed a fortune worth over $167 billion, currently making him the second richest person in the world, according
to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The billionaire has often reflected on his first job at McDonald's as a 16-year-old where he worked the grill and flipped burgers.

Bezos told Wired in an interview: "You can learn responsibility in any
job if you take it seriously. You learn a lot as a teenager working at McDonald's. It's different from what you learn in school. Don't
underestimate the value of that!"

2. Jay Leno
Jay Leno
Jay Leno. Jim Spellman/WireImage
The American television presenter and the former host of NBC's "The
Tonight Show" worked at a McDonald's on Main Street in Andover,
Massachusetts, in the 1960s.

3. Pano Christou
Pret a Manger CEO Pano Christou (left) and Prince William speaking
during a visit to Pret A Manger on September 7 in Bournemouth, England
Pret a Manger CEO Pano Christou (left) and Prince William speaking
during a visit to Pret A Manger on September 7 in Bournemouth, England
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Pano Christou, the current CEO of Pret a Manger who was paid close to $5 million for the year ending December 2021, said he started his career at McDonald's earning just $3 an hour.

Christou said in a recent interview that he "fell in love with
hospitality" while working the shop floor at McDonald's when he was 16
years old.

4. Sheryl Palmer
Sheryl Palmer, Taylor Morrison
Sheryl Palmer, chairman and CEO of Taylor Morrison REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The chief executive of homebuilding company Taylor Morrison first worked
at McDonald's at the age of 15 and rose up the ranks to become the fast
food giant's marketing manager in San Diego at the age of 20, she told
The New York Times.

"Every 16-year-old should have to work at McDonald's, because you really
do learn how to work," she said. "You have to pull back the equipment
and sweep behind. There are no shortcuts. You had to do it right because
it was such a part of their brand. There were a lot of life lessons in
that job."

5. Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
The American politician and former speaker of the US House of
Representatives has often touted his experience working at McDonald's in
his youth.

"When I was flippin' burgers at McDonald's, when I was standing in front
of that big Hobart machine washing dishes or waiting tables, I never
thought of myself as stuck in some station in life." he said in a speech
in 2012.

He added: "I thought to myself, I'm the American dream on a path and
journey so that I can find happiness however I can find it myself."

6. Andrew Card
Andrew Card, former White House Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush. Andrew Card, former White House Chief of Staff for President George W.
Bush. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
Andrew Card, former White House Chief of Staff for President George W.
Bush said he worked as a manager at McDonald's when he was in college,
per Forbes.

7. Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis, former track and field athlete. Gettyimages
Carl Lewis has won nine Olympic gold medals during his time as a track
and field athlete.

He later appeared in an ad for the chain that highlighted its successful
former employees.

8. Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda created the broadway sensation "Hamilton." Photo by
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
The American songwriter, actor, filmmaker, and playwright created hit
Broadway musicals including Hamilton and In the Heights.

Miranda started out working at McDonald's when he was 14 years old,
earning around $4.25 an hour. He worked the cash register and did
deliveries for the chain, and this experience later went on to inspire a
song he wrote.

McDonald's
Jeff Bezos
Billionaire

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