Entrepreneur. In 1941, he made a $326 investment in a hot dog stand and turned it into the multimillion-dollar fast food empire known as Carl Jr.’s restaurants. CKE Restaurants Inc., the company Karcher founded, operates 3,052 restaurants in 42 states and 13 countries, employees 62,000 people and has annual sales in excess of $1 billion. In addition to the Carl Jr.’s chain, his company also manages the Green Burrito product marketing plan in the restaurants. Karcher was known in elite circles, counting former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and entertainer Bob Hope as friends. A devout Catholic, he had several audiences with Pope John Paul II, whom knighted him into the Order of Malta, one of the highest honors a layperson can attain. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)  Family links:  Parents:  Leo A Karcher (1890 – 1940)  Anna M Kurtz Karcher (1893 – 1974)  Spouse:  Margaret Magdalen Heinz Karcher (1915 – 2006)*  Children:  Carleen Karcher (1947 – 1993)*  Siblings:  Pauline Elizabeth Karcher Smalley (1913 – 2007)*  Ralph S. Karcher (1915 – 2006)*  Carl N. Karcher (1917 – 2008)  Albert Leo Karcher (1918 – 2008)*  Bernard Karcher (1925 – 2012)*  Donald Fredrick Karcher (1927 – 1992)* *Calculated relationship