A candy business passed down three generations
John Franklyn Mars owes his wealth to his family's ownership of Mars, Incorporated, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. The business traces back to Frank C. Mars, his grandfather, who began making and selling candy in Tacoma, Washington, in 1911. After moving the operation to Minneapolis and later to Chicago, Frank Mars found national success with the Milky Way bar in the 1920s and Snickers in 1930.
The decisive figure for the family fortune was John's father, Forrest Mars Sr. After a falling out with his own father, Forrest went to Europe in the early 1930s, built a confectionery business in England and later returned to the United States, where he launched M&M's in 1941 and became involved with the Uncle Ben's rice brand. In 1964 he merged his businesses with the original Mars company and took control of the combined group.
John and his older brother, Forrest Jr., took over the running of the company in the 1970s after their father stepped back. Because Mars never sold shares to the public, ownership stayed inside the family, and that concentrated holding is the source of John Mars's wealth. Each generation inherited a business that was larger than the one before, and the brothers reinvested heavily rather than taking the company to the stock market, a choice that kept control and secrecy within the family.
Inside the Mars, Incorporated portfolio
Mars is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and operates through several large divisions:
- Mars Wrigley: chocolate, chewing gum and candy brands including M&M's, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, Skittles, Extra and Orbit
- Mars Petcare: pet food brands such as Pedigree, Whiskas and Royal Canin
- Veterinary services: hospital and clinic networks including Banfield, VCA and BluePearl
- Food and nutrition: rice, sauces and other packaged foods, plus a science and diagnostics business
The company made its largest step outside sweets in 2008, when it bought the Wrigley chewing gum company with financing support from Berkshire Hathaway. Over the following years Mars built pet care into its biggest business, buying Royal Canin in 2001, the Banfield pet hospital chain and, in 2017, the veterinary group VCA. In 2024 Mars agreed to acquire Kellanova, the snack maker behind Pringles and Cheez-It, a deal that further widened its reach in savory snacks.
The family exercises ownership through the board rather than daily management. Since 2004 the company has been run by chief executives from outside the family, while family members remain on the board and hold the shares.
Early years and his time running the company
John Franklyn Mars was born in 1935 and grew up as the younger son of Forrest Mars Sr. and Audrey Meyer Mars. He studied at Yale University and then joined the family business, where his father expected his children to learn every part of the operation, from factories to sales.
Forrest Sr. was known for a demanding management style built on tight cost control, open plan offices and a focus on quality, and his sons were trained under those rules. When he retired in the early 1970s, John and Forrest Jr. assumed joint leadership and held senior roles together for about three decades. During that period Mars expanded internationally and grew its pet food activities alongside confectionery.
John served as president and later as chairman of the company. He stepped back from executive duties in the early 2000s, when the family decided to hand the chief executive post to professional managers, and he later left the chair as the next generation took board seats. His sister Jacqueline Mars also inherited a share of the company and served on its board for many years.
Privacy, giving and public profile
The Mars family has long been among the most private business dynasties in the United States. Its members rarely give interviews, and the company publishes far less financial information than listed peers. John Mars has followed that pattern and keeps a low public profile.
He has lived for many years in the Jackson area of Wyoming. Through the company and family vehicles, the Mars family supports programs linked to its supply chains, such as efforts to improve farming practices among cocoa growers in West Africa, and the company has published long term commitments on deforestation, child labor and climate goals in cocoa sourcing. Family members have also supported education and conservation causes, often without publicity.
The structure of the fortune means that most of the wealth remains tied up in the private company rather than in cash or publicly traded shares. Ownership has been spread among the descendants of Forrest Mars Sr., with the fourth generation now represented on the board. For John Mars, the main public trace of his career is the expansion of the company during the decades he led it with his brother.