American Dream Award Winner
Richard Castro
Castro enterprises dba McDonald’s
El Paso, Texas
McDonald’s owner and operator Richard Castro has always dreamed big. Growing up poor in Del Rio, Texas, Castro did not have many successful Hispanic role models. But one day, riding in the car with his older brother, they saw the vice president of the local bank, who was Hispanic. Castro’s brother asked him if he wanted to work in a bank someday. The young Castro piped up: “No, I want to own the bank!”
This optimism propelled Castro to do well in school and go on to college. He became a city manager and later pursued a career in real estate. Then a McDonald’s franchisee convinced him to check out the fast food chain. Castro was impressed with the possibilities and applied to become an owner-operator. He now has 20 McDonald’s restaurants in the El Paso area. Castro has been widely recognized for his leadership and philanthropic contributions. Most recently he was inducted as a 2011 member of the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame for his contributions to sports and he received the 2010 Moving Forward Award from the El Paso Chamber of Commerce. He also is an inductee of the El Paso Business Hall of Fame. Castro created a youth basketball league with the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department and he started McDonald’s scholarship program for Hispanic students, HACER, which is now run through Ronald McDonald House Charities and has awarded more than $20 million to 14,000 students since 1985.
“The American Dream is alive and well. I’m a walking example of that, but there are examples all over the country,” says Castro.
