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Colonel Sanders Sold KFC For $2 Million Only To See The New Owners Cash Out For $285 Million Few Years Later — Why He Then Sued Them

Harland Sanders, aka Colonel Sanders, built Kentucky Fried Chicken into a roadside sensation, then sold it in 1964 for just $2 million, keeping a lifetime salary and the face of the brand. The 73-year-old then also secured a $40,000 annual stipend, later indexed to inflation, and a contract guaranteeing his white-suited likeness in advertising, transforming him into the world's most recognizable living fast-food pitchman.

Seven years later, investors flipped the chain to packaged-foods giant Heublein Inc. for $285 million, an eye-popping payday that left the colonel feeling sidelined.

What Happened: In 1971, WFAA, a Dallas-based television station, interviewed Colonel Harland Sanders, where he reflected on the subsequent sale of KFC for a significantly larger sum, highlighting his feelings of being “left out.”