What could be the of Colonel Sanders net worth as of 2023 ? You are a few minutes away from knowing, so be sure to read through. In summary, Colonel Sander was an American entrepreneur and businessman before his demise.
He was the founder of the fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC) and is said to have had a net worth of 3.5 million dollars which values up to 10 million dollars after the inflation adjustment. You might be a little bit in doubt owing to the fact that KFC’s annual revenue is about 23 billion dollars.
Colonel Sander’s Early Days and Family
The American businessman; Colonel Harland David Sanders was born on the 9th of September 1890 and died in December 1980, making him 90 years old at the time of his death. He was the eldest child of Wilbur David and Margaret Ann Sanders fondly called Dunlevy. He and his parent and younger siblings lived in a four-room house 3 miles east of Henryville, Indiana where they all attended Advent Christian Church.
Being a devout Christian, his mother continuously warned him and his siblings against gambling, alcohol, and tobacco. His father who was a butcher died in 1895 which led to Sander looking after and cooking for his younger siblings as his mother moved ahead to work in a tomato cannery.
He dropped out of seventh grade in 1902 after his mother had moved in with his stepfather in Greenwood, Indiana. This was because of his difficulty in getting along with his stepfather, he lived in a nearby farm where he worked.
Due to his ambitious nature, young Sander left home when he was 13 and got a horse carriage painting job in Indianapolis after which he moved to Southern Indiana to work on farmland at age 14. He did his tertiary education at La Salle Extension University. Later in the years, he got married to Josephine King in 1909 and was divorced in 1947, two years later, he married Claudia Price in 1949.
Colonel Sander’s Career Journey
He secured a job as a conductor at the streetcar company through the help of his uncle who also wired there in 1906. At age 16, he joined the United States Army in October 1906 where he completed his service as a wagoner in Cuba and was awarded the Cuban Pacification Medal (Army). On being discharged in 1907, he moved back with his uncle in Sheffield, Alabama.
Again, his uncle secured him a job as a blacksmith’s helper in the Southern railway workshops where he worked. Two months later, Sander moved to Jasper, Alabama, cleaning out pans of trains from the Northern Alabama Railroad after their runs were completed.
He further worked as a fireman for three years before he got fired for insubordination, due to the fact that he was sick. Sanders found laboring work with the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1909, after which he also did other jobs.
When he was 30, Sanders started a ferry boat company in 1920, he was later appointed secretary of the company and also a shareholder. Years later, he cashed in his share of $22,000 (now $378,000) and started an acetylene manufacturing company with it however, it failed after Delco introduced an electric lamp that was sold on credit.
After a series of other career disappointments, he began to serve chicken dishes with other meals like steaks and country ham. He first served his customers in his adjacent living quarters before he could open a proper restaurant. After Sanders’s competitor killed one of his employees, he was put behind bars, leaving Sanders with no form of competition. He was then commissioned as a Kentucky colonel in Sanders in 1935 by Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon.
Colonel Public Personality
He was recommissioned a Kentucky Colonel in 1950 by Governor Lawrence, he then began to represent his office, he grew a goatee and wore black frock coats which he later changed to white suits, a string tie, and addressed himself as Colonel.
He is reported to have been seen every time in public in these outfits till the last 20 years of his life, he used a heavy wool suit in winter and a light cotton suit during summer. His mustache and goatee were bleached to match his white hair color. He was a Freemason.
Colonel Sander’s Death And Burial
He was diagnosed with acute leukemia in 1980 and died at Louisville Hospital of pneumonia 6 months later. Prior to his death, he was very active and did appear in events and the public at large putting on his signage white suits.
His body was displayed in an open casket during a memorial service that was held at KFC’s headquarters in Louisville which more than 1,000 people attended. KFC’s outlet was estimated to be about 6000 in 48 countries of the world with 2 dollars in annual sales. Claudia his wife later died in December 1996 at age 94.
