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Who Owns Mars? Inside the $129B Reclusive Family Behind the Candy Empire

Mars remains controlled by Frank C. Mars’s descendants, whose $129 billion fortune now spans five generations and several family branches.

When candy maker Mars completed its $35.9 billion acquisition of Kellanova in December 2025, it brought Pringles, Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts into the same company as M&M’s, Snickers and Skittles. The deal added those brands to a business with roughly $65 billion in annual sales and operations that extend far beyond snacks. Mars also sells pet food, operates veterinary hospitals and provides animal diagnostics. But one element was largely absent from Mars’s announcement: the Mars family.

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The descendants of founder Frank C. Mars still own the privately held company, but they no longer oversee its daily operations. Forbes estimates the family’s wealth at $129 billion, placing it third on the publication’s 2026 list of America’s richest families.

Mars CEO Poul Weihrauch told TIME in 2023 that the company has a supervisory board that includes six family members and outside advisers. That structure is far removed from the business Frank C. Mars started in his kitchen more than a century ago.

Mars does not disclose a full count of........

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