Burger King

Current owner: Restaurant Brands International, Canadian fast food company

In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton opened a small hamburger shop called "Insta Burger King" in Miami, selling 18-cent hamburgers and milkshakes. Three years later, they dropped the "Insta," added a gas grill, and created the signature "Whopper" burger.

In 1967, the duo sold the chain to the Pillsbury Company and it became the second-largest burger chain in the US after McDonald's. In the decades that followed, the chain changed hands several times after a series of mergers and acquisitions with its parent company, before going public in 2006. In 2010 it was sold to private equity firm 3G Capital and went back to being privately owned.

Today, it's part of Restaurant Brands International, a Canadian fast food company that was formed when Burger King merged with Canadian coffee and donuts chain, Tim Horton’s. It is still backed by 3G Capital.