"It's making the company more profitable, " says Richard Adams, a former McDonald's Corp.

WSJ: Fast-Food Chains Selling Outlets to Franchisees

That summer, hoping to sell a couple extra papers, Richard Adams Locke, a reporter with The New York Sun, cooked up the perfect crime of a hoax.

FORBES

Each month 20 of the burger giant's 3, 000 U.S. franchisees now sell their rights back to the company under financial stress, says Richard Adams, head of the unofficial coalition of McDonald's franchisees, the Owner-Operator Consortium.

FORBES: Self-Employment

W. Bush, Richard Nixon and John Adams -- became president.

CNN: Joe, make way for Hillary