Mars family

File:Mars-Lakewood-20100912.JPG

Private mausoleum in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis

The Mars family is an American family that owns the confectionery company Mars Inc. In 1988, the family was ranked as the richest family in the United States of America by Fortune magazine. It has since been surpassed by the Walton family and the Koch family, and was ranked as the third richest family in America in 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Upon the 1 July 1999 death of Forrest Mars Sr., he and his two sons were ranked No. 29, 30, and 31 by Forbes magazine's list of richest Americans, and they each had a worth of approximately $4 billion. In March 2010 the three children of Forrest Mars were tied for 52nd place amongst the world's richest people, according to Forbes, with a net worth of Template:US$ each.<ref name="Billionaires 2010 Forrest Mars Jr."/><ref name="Billionaires 2010 John Mars"/><ref name="Billionaires 2010 Jacqueline Mars"/> One of these sons, Forrest Mars Jr., died on 26 July 2016, and his four daughters inherited his wealth, with three of them working for the company as of 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of April 2020, the combined private fortune of the family members was estimated at around $126 billion, making them one of the richest families in the world.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The family is very protective of their privacy. They rarely, if ever, give press interviews or, with the exception of Jacqueline Mars and Victoria B. Mars, are photographed in public.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A 2006 report quantified how the Mars family was among 18 billionaire families, starting in the 1990s, who continuously lobbied Congress to eliminate the estate tax.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Family members

• Franklin Clarence Mars (September 24, 1883 – April 8, 1935) – founder of Mars, Inc. Invented the Milky Way bar.
  • Ethel G. Kissack (September 29, 1882 – April 11, 1980)<ref name="Kissack" /> – first wife of Frank C. Mars (married 1902, divorced)
    • Forrest Edward Mars Sr. (March 21, 1904 – July 1, 1999) – son of Frank C. Mars and Ethel G. Mars. Invented M&M's.
      • Audrey Ruth Meyer (May 25, 1910 – June 15, 1989) – wife of Forrest E. Mars Sr.
        • Forrest E. Mars Jr. (August 16, 1931 – July 26, 2016) – son of Forrest E. Mars Sr.<ref name="Principles" />
          • Virginia Cretella (born 1929/1930)<ref name="AAVC"/> – first wife of Forrest E. Mars Jr. (divorced 1990)<ref name="Pottker 2008"/>
            • Victoria B. Mars – daughter of Forrest E. Mars Jr. and Virginia C. Mars<ref name="Principles" /><ref name="Gleick 1994"/>
            • Valerie Anne Mars – daughter of Forrest E. Mars Jr. and Virginia C. Mars,<ref name="Principles" /><ref name="NYTimes Valerie 1984"/> member of the Board of Directors of Conservation International<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• • • • • • • • Philip Michael White – husband of Valerie Anne Mars (married 1984)<ref name="NYTimes Valerie 1984"/>
            • Pamela D. Mars-Wright (born Pamela Diane Mars, 1960/1961) daughter of Forrest E. Mars Jr. and Virginia C. Mars<ref name="Principles" /><ref name="NYTimes Pamela 1993"/>
              • Lonnie Jay Wright (born 1960/1961) – husband of Pamela Diane Mars (married 1992)<ref name="NYTimes Pamela 1993"/>
            • Marijke Elizabeth Mars (born 1965) – daughter of Forrest E. Mars Jr. and Virginia C. Mars<ref name="NYTimes Marijke 1991"/><ref name="BloombergBillIndex">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• • • • • • • • Stephen J. Doyle – husband of Marijke Elizabeth Mars (married 1991)<ref name="NYTimes Marijke 1991"/> (divorced 2000)
          • Deborah Adair Clarke – second wife of Forrest E. Mars Jr.<ref name="Pottker 2008"/> (divorced 2010)
        • John Franklyn Mars (born October 15, 1935) – son of Forrest E. Mars Sr.<ref name="Principles" />
          • Adrienne Bevis – wife of John Mars (married June 1958)<ref name="Bevis"/>
            • Linda Anne Mars (born May 23, 1960) – daughter of John and Adrienne Mars<ref name="Gleick 1994"/><ref name="Bevis"/>
            • Frank Edward Mars (born March 13, 1963) – son of John and Adrienne Mars<ref name="Principles" /><ref name="Gleick 1994"/><ref name="Bevis"/>
              • Susan Alleman Mars – wife of Frank E. Mars<ref name="Etown" />
            • Michael John Mars (born November 22, 1967) – son of John and Adrienne Mars<ref name="Principles" /><ref name="Bevis"/><ref name="NYTimes Michael 1993"/>
              • Sarah Ann Robbins (born April 19, 1968) – wife of Michael John Mars (married 1993)<ref name="Bevis"/><ref name="NYTimes Michael 1993"/>
        • Jacqueline Mars (born October 10, 1939) – daughter of Forrest E. Mars Sr.<ref name="Gleick 1994" />
          • David H. Badger – first husband of Jacqueline Mars (married 1961, divorced 1984)<ref name="Gleick 1994"/>
            • Alexandra B. Airth (born Alexandra Badger, 1966/1967) – daughter of Jacqueline Mars and David Badger<ref name="Principles" /><ref name="NYTimes Alexandra 1991"/>
              • Andrew Towne Carey (born 1966/1967) – husband of Alexandra Mars Badger (married 1991)<ref name="NYTimes Alexandra 1991"/> (divorced 1995)
              • Alan Airth – husband of Alexandra Badger<ref>Our Supporters Template:Webarchive. Pretend City Children’s Museum.</ref>
            • Stephen M. Badger (born September 18, 1968) – son of Jacqueline Mars and David Badger
            • Christa M. Badger (born Template:Circa1975) – daughter of Jacqueline Mars and David Badger<ref name="Principles" />
          • Harold 'Hank' Vogel – second husband of Jacqueline Mars (married 1986, divorced in 1994)<ref name="Gleick 1994"/><ref>Template:Cite news, ...Jackie Mars, heiress to a $3 billion slice of the fortune, is being sued by her estranged husband, Harold Vogel...</ref>
  • Ethel Veronica Healy (1884 – December 20, 1945) – second wife of Frank C. Mars (married 1910, widowed 1934), president of Mars Candy Company, Chicago, after death of husband<ref name="Billboard 1946"/>
    • Patricia Mars (1914–1965) – daughter of Frank C. Mars and Ethel V. Healy<ref name="Billboard 1946"/><ref>The Sweet, Secret World of Forrest Mars (Fortune, 1967), by Harold B. Meyers, By Fortune Editors March 31, 2013, Fortune, ...His half sister, Patricia Mars Furst Feeney, had another third...</ref>
      • William Furst – husband of Patricia Mars
      • Alan Feeney – husband of Patricia Mars