A　dear　friend　of　mine；　Keith　Cunningham；　was　a　student　in　that　MBA　class。　After　a　powerful　and　inspiring　talk；　the　class　adjourned　and　the　students　asked　Ray　if　he　would　join　them　at　their　favorite　hangout　to　have　a　few　beers。 Ray　graciously　accepted。

〃What　business　am　I　in？〃　Ray　asked；　once　the　group　had　all　their　beers　in　hand。

〃Everyone　laughed；〃　said　Keith。　〃Most　of　the　MBA　students　thought　Ray　was　just　fooling　around。〃

No　one　answered；　so　Ray　asked　the　question　again。　〃What　business　do　you　think　I'm　in？〃

The　students　laughed　again；　and　finally　one　brave　soul　yelled　out；　〃Ray；　who　in　the　world　does　not　know　that　you're　in　the　hamburger　business。〃

Ray　chuckled。　〃That　is　what　I　thought　you　would　say。〃　He　paused　and　then　quickly　said；　'ladies　and　gentlemen；　I'm　not　in　the　hamburger　business。　My　business　is　real　estate。〃

Keith　said　that　Ray　spent　a　good　amount　of　time　explaining　his　viewpoint。 In　their　business　plan；　Ray　knew　that　the　primary　business　focus　was　to　sell　hamburger　franchises；　but　what　he　never　lost　sight　of　was　the　location　of　each　franchise。　He　knew　that　the　real　estate　and　its　location　was　the　most　significant　factor　in　the　success　of　each　franchise。　Basically；　the　person　that　bought　the　franchise　was　also　paying　for；　buying；　the　land　under　the　franchise　for　Ray　Kroc's　organization。

McDonald's　today　is　the　largest　single　owner　of　real　estate　in　the　world；　owning　even　more　than　the　Catholic　Church。　Today；　Mc