Colonel Sander’s net worth is an intriguing question among being but he was an American businessman who started Kentucky Fried Chicken, or KFC.
He died with a net worth of $3.5 million, which today would be around $10 million.
Despite KFC making over $23 billion annually now, his wealth might seem less than expected.
His real name was Harland Sanders.
He passed away on December 16, 1980, aged 90.
Sanders was the face of KFC and acted as its ambassador.
Even though he wasn’t in the military, he got an honorary title as a Kentucky Colonel.
During the Great Depression, Sanders came up with his special recipe for fried chicken and a way to cook it quickly in a pressure fryer.
He focused on spreading his chicken by franchising across the U.S.
When he was 73, in 1964, Sanders sold KFC for $2 million, which today would be $15 million.
But he continued to represent the brand and kept control of operations in Canada.
Who is Colonel Sanders ?
Harland Sanders was born on September 9, 1890, in Henryville, Indiana.
He was the oldest of three kids to Margaret and Wilbur.
They went to the Advent Christian Church together.
When his father died in 1895, Sanders had to take care of his siblings while his mom worked at a tomato cannery.
He was good at cooking from a young age and could cook vegetables by the time he was seven.
In 1902, his mom married William Broaddus, so they moved to Greenwood, Indiana.
Sanders quit school in 1903 and started working on a farm nearby.
Later, he got a job painting horse carriages in Indianapolis.
When he was 14, he became a farmhand in southern Indiana.
Colonel Sanders career
In 1906, Sanders moved to New Albany, Indiana.
He lived with his uncle who worked for a streetcar company.
Sanders got a job as a conductor there.
He lied about his age to join the US Army.
He served in Cuba as a wagoner until he got an honorable discharge in early 1907.
Then he went to Sheffield, Alabama, where his uncle helped him become a blacksmith’s assistant.
After a short time cleaning ash pans for the Northern Alabama Railroad in Jasper, Sanders got promoted to a steam engine stoker.
He did that job for about three years.
He stayed in the railroad business and worked as a laborer for the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1909.
Eventually, he became a steam engine stoker for the Illinois Central Railroad.
Colonel Sanders’ Journey To Entrepreneurship: From Legal Disputes to Ferry Boat Ventures
Sanders studied law by mail from La Salle Extension University while working on the railroad.
He later became a lawyer in Little Rock, Arkansas.
However, his legal career ended after three years due to a dispute with a client in court.
Sanders then moved back in with his mother in Henryville, Indiana and worked on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Later, he got a job selling life insurance for Prudential in Jeffersonville, Indiana, but was fired for insubordination.
He then worked for Mutual Benefit Life before starting a ferry boat company on the Ohio River between Jeffersonville and Louisville in 1920.
He later became secretary at the Chamber of Commerce in Columbus, Indiana, but quit after a year.
Sanders then tried his hand at various ventures, including a failed acetylene lamp business, before working as a salesman for the Michelin Tire Company in Winchester, Kentucky.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
In 1952, Sanders sold his secret recipe for “Kentucky Fried Chicken” for the first time to Pete Harman of South Salt Lake, Utah.
Sales soared in the first year.
Harman wanted to set his restaurant apart from competitors, so he added fried chicken, which was unique in Utah and gave a taste of Southern hospitality.
A sign painter named Don Anderson coined the name Kentucky Fried Chicken.
More restaurant owners followed Harman’s lead and franchised the concept, paying Sanders $0.04 per chicken.
Sanders, at 65, sold his North Corbin restaurant due to reduced traffic from a new highway.
With only savings and a small Social Security income, he began franchising his chicken idea seriously.
He traveled across the US, offering to cook his chicken in restaurants and negotiating franchise rights.
Sanders and his wife, Claudia, opened a new restaurant and company headquarters in Shelbyville in 1959. The franchise approach was a hit.
KFC expanded internationally, reaching Canada, the UK, Australia, Mexico, and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Sanders remained a salaried brand ambassador.
In 1965, he moved to Mississauga, Ontario, to oversee Canadian franchises.
Sanders retained influence over executives and franchisees, making surprise visits and filming commercials. He criticized changes made by the company.
Sanders and his wife reopened their Shelbyville restaurant as “Claudia Sanders, The Colonel’s Lady,” serving KFC-style chicken.
After a settlement, they sold the restaurant, which still operates today as the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, serving the “original recipe” fried chicken.
Sanders continued to criticize KFC’s food.
In 1975, he spoke out against the gravy, calling it “horrible” and likening it to wallpaper paste.
He remained dissatisfied with changes made to his crispy fried chicken recipe.
The Cause Of Sanders Death
Sanders got sick with acute leukemia in June 1980.
He passed away at Louisville Jewish Hospital six months later, on December 16, when he was 90 years old.
Until just before he died, he stayed active, even showing up to greet people in his white suit.
After his death, there was a big ceremony for him.
More than 500 people attended his funeral at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Chapel.
They also held a memorial service at KFC’s headquarters in Louisville, where about 1,000 to 1,200 people came.
Sanders was laid to rest in his trademark white suit and black western string tie at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
His wife, Claudia, passed away on December 31, 1996, when she was 94 years old.
When Sanders died, KFC had around 6,000 stores in 48 countries, making $2 billion in sales every year.
Conclusion
Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of KFC, started with a special fried chicken recipe during the Great Depression, franchised KFC across the U.S., and sold the company in 1964.
Despite this, he remained the brand ambassador until his death in 1980.
His legacy lives on as KFC continues to be a global fast-food icon.