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Fast Food Franchise "Landlord" Extortion.

Calculates the core financial reality of McDonald's: It is not a restaurant company, it is a $200 Billion commercial real estate trust that uses burgers as a mechanism to extract horrific rent and royalties from trapped franchisees.

## The Feudal Lords of Fast Food

If you ask a Wall Street analyst what McDonald's sells, they will not say "Burgers." McDonald's is one of the world's largest Commercial Real Estate holders. The corporation owns the land at prime intersections worldwide. The "small business owner" franchisee is merely a serf paying extreme rent to a feudal lord.

### FAQ

**Q: Why is buying a fast-food franchise often a terrible investment?**
A: Top-Line Siphoning. The "Corporation" has engineered a system where the franchisee absorbs 100% of the risk, the labor strikes, the broken ice cream machines, and the rising cost of beef. The Corporation does not take a cut of the *Profit*; they take a cut of the *Gross Revenue*. As a franchisee, you must immediately surrender 4% in royalties, 4% for national TV ads, and crucially—up to 12% in rent. The Corporation explicitly buys the land under the store and forces you to sign a 20-year lease, often structured so that as your sales increase, your rent goes up automatically. You do all the intense, sweaty labor of selling $2.8 Million worth of french fries, and the Corporation silently siphons $560,000 straight out of your bank account in rent and fees, leaving you with a mathematically razor-thin 5% profit margin.