The secret history of Ray Dalio and the creation of Chicken McNuggets—how a 1980s hedge strategy unlocked a whole new menu
The Bridgewater founder began as a commodities expert and doesn’t claim credit: “the cost of a chicken has nothing to do with the price of the chick.”
Ray Dalio, a renowned hedge fund manager, played a crucial role in helping McDonald's introduce the Chicken McNugget to the world. Before founding Bridgewater Associates, Dalio was a consultant specializing in agricultural commodities. In the early 1980s, McDonald's faced challenges in pricing their nuggets due to volatile chicken feed costs.
Dalio, with his expertise in this area, helped McDonald's hedge the price and ensure a stable price for the nuggets. This expertise was instrumental in McDonald's decision to launch Chicken McNuggets in 1983, which quickly made it one of the company's most popular products and transformed McDonald's into a leading player in the chicken market.
Written by urgent.news from Fortune's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
