Jacqueline Mars (born October 10, 1939) is an American heiress and investor. She is the daughter of Audrey Ruth (Meyer) and

Forrest Mars, Sr. Forrest Edward Mars Sr. (March 21, 1904 – July 1, 1999) was an American billionaire businessman and the driving force of the Mars candy empire. He is best known for introducing Milky Way (1924) and Mars (1932) chocolate candy bars, and M&M's ( ...

, and the granddaughter of

Frank C. Mars Franklin Clarence Mars (; September 24, 1883 – April 8, 1935) was an American business magnate who founded the food company Mars, Incorporated, which mostly makes chocolate candy. Mars' son Forrest Edward Mars developed M&M's and the Mars ...

, founders of the American

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

company

Mars, Incorporated Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest pri ...

. As of October 2022, she was ranked by ''

Bloomberg Billionaires Index The ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index'', launched in March 2012, is a daily ranking of the world's 500 richest people based on their net worth. It draws information from "action in the stock market, economic indicators and news reports", features a p ...

'' as the 22nd richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$53 billion.

Early life

Jacqueline Mars was born on October 10, 1939. She was graduated from Miss Hall's School, located in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. Mars participated as an equestrian in many horse shows during her youth. She is a 1961 graduate of

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

and her degree is in anthropology.

Career

Mars is an heiress among the members of the

Mars family The Mars family is an American family that owns the eponymous 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 Wa ...

that founded and owns

Mars Incorporated Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest privat ...

, holding shares in the company. As a member of the family, her shares of Mars, Inc. and other assets were estimated by ''Forbes'' magazine in January 2019 to be worth $23.5 billion, making her the 18th richest American, and #34 on its list of "The World's Billionaires". Mars was active in Mars, Inc. from 1982, when she joined the company as food product group president. She retired in 2001. In June 2019, ''Forbes'' listed her as the wealthiest resident living in Virginia, with an estimated 28.1 billion dollar net worth.

Personal life

Mars married David H. Badger in 1961. They had three children: Alexandra Badger born , Stephen M. Badger born , and Christa M. Badger born . She divorced Badger in 1984. She married Harold 'Hank' Vogel in 1986, with whom she resided in

Bedminster, New Jersey Bedminster is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 8,165, reflecting a decline of 137 (−1.7%) from the 8,302 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in t ...

. They divorced in 1994. Mars is a trustee of the U.S. Equestrian Team. She owns a working organic farm that is protected in perpetuity by the

Land Trust of Virginia The Land Trust of Virginia (LTV) was originally formed in 1991 as the first statewide nonprofit land trust in the Commonwealth of Virginia. LTV uses a legal tool called a conservation easement to help landowners voluntarily protect scenic, histori ...

. She sits on the board of directors for both the

Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Perform ...

and the National Sporting Library and Fine Arts Museum. Mars also sits on the National Advisory Council of the

Journey through Hallowed Ground Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred r ...

, a foundation promoting American heritage in the region stretching from

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to ...

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

, the home of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

that is situated just outside

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen C ...

. Mars is a routine donor to the

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...

. She received the inaugural Heritage Award granted by the Foundation for the National Archives.

2013 automobile crash

On October 4, 2013, Mars was involved in a car crash on U.S. Route 50 in Aldie, near her home in The Plains in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

. Her vehicle crossed the highway center line and struck a Chrysler minivan carrying six passengers. One person died at the scene and another, who was pregnant, subsequently miscarried. Mars was charged with

reckless driving In United States law, reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation that generally consists in driving a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. It is usually a more serious offense than careless ...

. She told a witness after the crash that she had fallen asleep at the wheel. Mars subsequently pleaded guilty to the

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

charge of reckless driving, with tests having revealed no drugs, alcohol, or medications in her system that could have caused a blackout (test was given 72 hours after accident).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mars, Jacqueline Living people American billionaires Businesspeople in confectionery Female billionaires Mars family Bryn Mawr College alumni 1939 births Businesspeople from Virginia People from Bedminster, New Jersey People from The Plains, Virginia