Chick-fil-A's founding family is worth more than $33 billion. Here's how the Cathys created the fast food chain and how they run it today
- The Cathys are the family behind Chick-fil-A, known for its pressure-cooked fried chicken.
- The combined net worth of the family is $33.6 billion, according to Forbes.
- In 2022, Chick-fil-A's restaurants generated about $18.8 billion in sales in the US.
When it comes to the Cathy family's multibillion-dollar fortune, it's all about the fried chicken. That's because the Cathys created the Chick-fil-A empire.
S. Truett Cathy officially founded the popular fast-food chain in the late 1960s, laying the roots for what is today one of America's richest family dynasties, according to Forbes. Like burger institution In-N-Out, solely run by the Snyder family, Chick-fil-A has always been led by a member of the Cathy family.
Truett's son, Dan Cathy, served as CEO from 2013 to 2021, and Dan's son, Andrew, has run the chain since November 2021. He is only the third member of the Cathy family to lead Chick-fil-A since it was founded in 1967. Dan Cathy, whose net worth is $10.7 billion, remains board chairman of the chain.
Born and raised in the South, the Cathy family has been dedicated to continuing Truett's legacy, growing Chick-fil-A across the US to 2,800 restaurants. In September 2023, the chain announced plans to expand to the UK.
Chick-fil-A has been celebrated for its company culture, customer service, and quality food, but it has also received backlash over anti-same-sex marriage beliefs that align with the Cathys' Christian upbringing.
"At Chick-fil-A, we are very grounded on our corporate purpose, to be a purpose-driven organization," Dan Cathy said during an interview with Chief Executive magazine. "That purpose is defined in the statement that we're here to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that's entrusted to us and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."
Take a look inside the rise of Chick-fil-A and the family behind it.
S. Truett Cathy had three children: son Dan T. Cathy, daughter Trudy Cathy White, and son Donald "Bubba" Cathy.
S. Truett raised his children in a "modest house" but had a car collection that included former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's 1937 Lincoln Continental, George Glaze's Brewster 8 Town Car, and a 1931 Duesenberg.
According to Forbes, the three children are worth $10.7 billion each as of September 2023.
The restaurant had four tables and 10 stools at the counter. On opening day, sales totaled $58.20, according to the Atlanta 100.
It was there that they first served chicken sandwiches, mainly to Ford factory workers and airport employees who worked nearby.
The Dwarf House name lives on. There are five locations, all in Georgia. Since the late 1980s, the Dwarf House has provided customers with a historical perspective on Chick-fil-A, and sites are modeled after S. Truett's first restaurant. They offer sit-down, counter, and drive-thru service for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
According to Chick-fil-A's website, it offers a typical Chick-fil-A menu plus specialty items such as green beans, fried okra, cornbread, and chicken salad.
S. Truett began to expand the Dwarf House. In 1951, he opened a second restaurant in Forest Park, Georgia. It was there that he devised the formula for what would become the Chick-fil-A sandwich, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In 1963, he trademarked "Chick-fil-A," and in 1967, he opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant at a mall in Atlanta.
Today, it has more than 3,000 restaurants in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada, per its website.
In September 2023, the chain announced plans to expand to Europe, the UK, and Asia.
Chick-fil-A's franchise fee for a new restaurant is $10,000 — one of the lowest of any major fast-food brand.
In 2022, most locations averaged nearly $8.7 million in annual sales. That's more than double the revenue made in a year by the average McDonald's. And remember, Chick-fil-A isn't open on Sundays.
Dan grew up doing odd jobs at Chick-fil-A, including scraping chewing gum from table bottoms with a butter knife.
In his spare time, Dan plays the trumpet, gardens, and landscapes.
Dan and his wife, Rhonda, have two sons, Andrew and Ross, according to Forbes. Andrew now runs the chain.
Bubba grew up in the business.
He is currently the president of Dwarf House, the string of modern restaurants modeled after S. Truett's first one.
She's also an author — her book "Climb Every Mountain" was published by Simon & Schuster. Her also father published five books about business, motivation, and parenting during his lifetime.
Trudy is co-founder of Lifeshape, an organization supporting at-risk children.
The Whites served for 20 years with the International Mission Board. For half that time, they served as missionaries in Brazil, where they started a small church.
Restaurant openings often include prayer, and Chick-fil-A locations are closed on Sundays even though it likely costs the chain more than $1 billion in sales yearly.
"Truett Cathy always maintained he wasn't in the chicken business, but the people business," the chain says on its website.
The organization donates money to Christian organizations and offers residential camps, a retreat center, and a foster home.
WinShape was criticized for donating to anti-gay marriage groups — about $5 million since 2003, Forbes reported in 2012.
In an interview with Baptist Press, he said he's "guilty as charged" when it comes to supporting what he calls the "biblical definition of the family unit."
Dan later said the chain didn't have an anti-gay agenda.
"While my family and I believe in the biblical definition of marriage, we love and respect anyone who disagrees," he said.
In 2019, Chick-fil-A said it would no longer donate to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army, two groups that have been criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates.
Chick-fil-A has been rated the most beloved restaurant chain in the American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual survey for nine years in a row. It remains a top chain for customer satisfaction, according to various fast-food surveys.
In April 2020, Chick-fil-A donated $10.8 million to local communities for pandemic relief.
In 2022, Chick-fil-A donated $3.5 million to Feeding America to help provide more than 17 million meals to communities in need. The company has also provided 14,000 employees with more than $24 million in scholarships to pursue higher education.
Franchisees have been known to cover costs for not just a worker's education but for support during a personal emergency.
Like In-N-Out, Chick-fil-A is privately held, and there aren't any plans to take the company public.
Under Andrew's watch, Chick-fil-A has pursued digital and store design innovation. The chain has more than 30 drive-thru-only locations.
In July 2023, Chick-fil-A said it plans to test a restaurant with four drive-thru lanes that flow below an elevated building with a large kitchen.