When it comes to wealthier families, the Rockefeller family is the one most people talk about isn’t necessarily because of the fortune they currently control, but because of how long the family has been able to maintain its richness. That being said, many other families have come and gone, including the Mars family, which owns and controls the world’s largest candy company, Mars Inc.
What is the Mars family net worth?
Long before the Mars family became the richest family in the United States in 1988, the family had already become a major family in terms of wealth. Although it has since been overtaken by the Walton family and the Koch family, it remains a very wealthy family.
When it comes to the net worth of the Mars family, they were $90 billion in 2018, making them the third richest family in the world after the Walton families, owners of Walmart, and Koch families, owners of Koch Industries, with respective net assets of $152 billion and $99 billion.
The primary source of the Mars family’s wealth is their candy business through which they passed on wealth from one generation to the next. Present in more than 50 countries, Mars Inc. would have generated a net turnover of more than 35 billion dollars.
Although the family is among the wealthiest, many members are also on the billionaire list, including Forrest Mars Jr. and his four children, John Franklyn Mars and Jacqueline Mars.
Who are the key family members?
The wealth of the Mars family was transferred from generation to generation, each preserving the legacy of the previous one. However, there have been a few key family members since his journey to fame began to date. Here is some:
1. Franklin Clarence Mars
Let’s go back to 1883. It was the birth of Franklin Clarence Mars. He then founded the company Mars Inc., which would later make the Mars family one of the wealthiest in the world.
He started the Mars Candy Factory with his wife, Ethel V. Mars in 1911. Unfortunately, the business of producing and selling fresh candy failed. After moving from Washington to Minnesota in 1920, they founded the Mar-O-Bar Co., then introduced the Milky Way bar in 1923. He later saw the company incorporated as Mars, Inc.
By the time of his death in 1934 at the age of 51, Mars had already earned as much as $26,700,000.
2.Forrest Edward Mars Sr.
Forrest Edward Mars Sr. is the son of Franklin Mars. Born in 1906, his father introduced him to the business. He became a very powerful force in moving society forward with the introduction of products such as Mars candy bars, M&M’s candy bars and Uncle Ben’s Rice.
At the beginning of the activity, Mars wanted to develop the business abroad but his father did not want it. This brought a disagreement between the two men, forcing the young Mars to ransom his father, and then he left for England, where he founded the Mars Bar and Maltesers in 1933.
As he continued to grow, he then took over the Mars family business following the death of his father and merged it with his own. In 1973, he left the business to his children and retired. But not done yet, he still founded Ethel M chocolates, bought in 1988 by Mars Inc. That year, the family became the richest family in the United States.
When he died in 1999, Forrest Edward Mars Sr. had a net worth of $4 billion.
3.Forrest Mars Jr.
The next key member of the Mars family is Mars Jr. who was the son of Forrest Mars Sr. He was born in 1931 and was one of the prominent members of the Mars family. Prior to his death in 2016, his net worth in 2015 was estimated at $26.8 billion, a significant increase from the $11 billion he had five years earlier.
4. John Franklyn Mars
Born in 1935, John Franklyn Mars is also the son of Forrest Mars, Sr. making him another key member of the Mars family. Through his assets and his share with the family business, he had a net worth of $29 billion in 2016. In addition to the family business, he reportedly bought VCA Inc in 2017. The care company for pets reportedly cost him $7.7 billion.
5. Jacqueline Mars
Jacqueline Mars, American heiress and investor was born in 1939. She is also the daughter of Forrest Mars Sr. She has been active in the Mars family business and has served at Mars, as president of the food products group since 1982 until her retirement in 2001. Jacqueline has an estimated net worth of $23.5 billion as of 2019.