13. McDonalds Earns The Majority Of Its Profits Outside The US
In 1991, McDonalds had fewer than 4,000 overseas restaurants, which climbed to more than 18,000 within fifteen years as the company sought to escape the fierce competition from within the United States and export its values to every corner of the globe. Often, the company was viewed as a symbol of American freedom, such as when the opening of a new McDonalds in Kuwait in 1994 caused a seven-mile long tailback of waiting cars. More recently, McDonalds and other fast food franchises have replaced embassies as targets of anti-US demonstrations, such as when restaurants in Lebanon, Ecuador, Russia and Saudi Arabia were destroyed in protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
In 1991, McDonalds had fewer than 4,000 overseas restaurants, which climbed to more than 18,000 within fifteen years as the company sought to escape the fierce competition from within the United States and export its values to every corner of the globe. Often, the company was viewed as a symbol of American freedom, such as when the opening of a new McDonalds in Kuwait in 1994 caused a seven-mile long tailback of waiting cars. More recently, McDonalds and other fast food franchises have replaced embassies as targets of anti-US demonstrations, such as when restaurants in Lebanon, Ecuador, Russia and Saudi Arabia were destroyed in protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.