The Mars family’s fortune comes chiefly from its private ownership of Mars, Inc., the company behind a global portfolio spanning confectionery, food and pet care. The family is not invariably ranked third: Forbes placed it second among U.S. families in 2024, while Bloomberg’s 2025 global ranking estimated its wealth at $143.4 billion.
How the Mars family built its fortune
The family’s business grew from confectionery into a much broader private company. Mars’ official history traces the enterprise’s development and brands; today its businesses include food and pet care as well as candy. That diversification matters to the family’s wealth story: the fortune is tied to ownership of an operating company with multiple business lines, not simply to a single candy brand. Mars’ official history provides the company’s own chronology.
The company’s scale is substantial. Bloomberg reported that Mars recorded $54.6 billion in sales in 2024, citing a bond prospectus issued in early 2025. That is company revenue—not the Mars family’s personal wealth. Bloomberg’s report put the sales figure before Mars’ $36 billion acquisition of Kellanova, another company-level transaction value rather than a measure of family net worth. Bloomberg’s 2025 family profile discusses the company’s finances and the transaction.
Who owns Mars, Inc.?
Bloomberg describes the Mars family as Mars, Inc.’s sole shareholder, based on private-company filings. The company did not comment to Bloomberg on how ownership is divided among individuals, so the specific percentages reported publicly are estimates rather than a company-confirmed cap table.
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Bloomberg’s analysis assumes the fortune was inherited equally by Jacqueline, John and Forrest Mars Jr., and that Forrest Jr.’s stake was divided equally among his four daughters after his death in 2016. Forbes has separately estimated that John and Jacqueline Mars each own about one-third of the company, and that Victoria Mars and her three sisters each inherited an estimated 8% stake. Neither set of figures should be treated as a disclosed, verified breakdown of current ownership. Forbes’ Jacqueline Mars profile and Victoria Mars profile provide its estimates.
The family’s ownership model also involves stewardship across generations. In a TIME interview, Mars CEO Poul Weihrauch described the family’s perspective this way: “The family wants to feel proud about what they own.” The remark is Weihrauch’s, not a quotation from an individual Mars family member. TIME’s interview with Weihrauch provides the context.
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How wealthy is the Mars family—and is it America’s third-richest?
Rank depends on the publication, year, geographic scope and methodology. The title’s “third-wealthiest” description is not a timeless ranking: Forbes’ 2024 U.S. family list placed Mars second, behind the Walton family. Bloomberg’s 2025 list was global, not U.S.-only, and estimated the Mars family’s wealth at $143.4 billion. These rankings cannot be combined into a single current ordinal because they cover different lists and dates. Forbes’ 2024 U.S. ranking and Bloomberg’s 2025 global ranking show their respective scopes.
Bloomberg’s $143.4 billion figure is an estimate, not an audited disclosure of family assets. Bloomberg says its company valuation draws on Mars’ 2024 financials and peer-company valuation multiples, alongside assumptions about inherited ownership stakes. The company’s reported sales and the family’s estimated wealth measure different things: revenue is money generated by the business over a period, while a family-wealth estimate attempts to value assets and ownership.
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Bloomberg also reported that Mars distributed $1.5 billion to family shareholders in 2024, citing the bond prospectus. A shareholder distribution is a company payment to owners; it is not the family’s total wealth, nor is it the same as annual company sales. Bloomberg’s reporting gives the figure and its basis.
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