The Mars family is a family that owns the confectionery company Mars, Inc., bearing their name. The family was called the richest family in America by Fortune magazine in 1988, since surpassed by the Walton family.
Upon the 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. As of 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 US$11 billion each.
The family is fiercely protective of their privacy, refusing to give press interviews or, with the exception of Jacqueline Mars, be photographed in public.
The Mars family was among 18 billionaire families who lobbied Congress to eliminate the estate tax. According to Public Citizen, since 1994 the families have spent approximately $500 million on lobbying efforts.
Read more about Mars Family: Family Members, Family Tree
Famous quotes containing the words mars and/or family:
“It makes us, or it mars us, think on that,
And fix most firm thy resolution.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The son will run away from the family not at eighteen but at twelve, emancipated by his gluttonous precocity; he will fly not to seek heroic adventures, not to deliver a beautiful prisoner from a tower, not to immortalize a garret with sublime thoughts, but to found a business, to enrich himself and to compete with his infamous papa.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67)