What is Woods Staton's Net Worth?

Woods Staton is the former President and CEO of Arcos Dorados (the largest McDonald's franchise in the world). Woods Staton has a net worth of $1.7 billion. The Colombian billionaire holds a master's degree in business administration from IMD, in Switzerland, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Emory University. Woods started his career as the Joint Venture Partner for McDonald's in Argentina, before acquiring the President of the McDonald's South Latin America Division. Meanwhile, Woods worked in Panamco, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America that was founded by his grandfather. Eventually, he became Panamco's CEO.

The first time McDonald's sought him out was in 1982, in order to open its first restaurants in Colombia, which was halted by guerrilla violence and import restrictions. It was in 1985, when Staton accepted an offer to launch the chain in Argentina with the backing of McDonald's Chairman and CEO Fred Turner. This timing turned out to be a win-win combination. Ever since, the fast food chain expanded his duties to oversee Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, and then Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. In 2007, Arcos Dorados (or "Golden Arches" in Spanish) gave McDonald's $700 million for the rights to conduct McDonald's both in Latin America and the Caribbean. Staton became a billionaire in April 2011, when the group that currently owns around 1,880 outlets in 20 countries and territories, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.