# Forrest Mars Sr. **Forrest Edward Mars Sr.** (1904–1999) was the son of [[Frank Mars]] and the architect of [[Mars Inc.]]'s transformation from a regional candy company into a global food and pet-care empire. He created M&M's, built the Mars bar brand in Europe, launched Uncle Ben's Rice, and established the culture of extreme corporate secrecy that defines the Mars fortune to this day. ## Background - Born March 21, 1904, in Wadena, Minnesota - Raised in Canada by grandparents after parents' divorce - B.S. in industrial engineering, Yale University (1928) - Estranged from his father after a dispute over international expansion; moved to Europe ## Empire building After being pushed out of the family business, Forrest built his own Mars company in Slough, England — creating the Mars bar (1932) and Maltesers (1936). During WWII he returned to the U.S. and co-created **M&M's** (1941) through a joint venture inspired by soldiers' rations of chocolate in hard candy shells. He also co-launched **Uncle Ben's Rice**. After [[Frank Mars]]'s death, Forrest reunited the companies in 1964, merging his European operations with Mars, Inc. He ran the combined company until retiring in 1973 and turning control over to his children — [[Forrest Mars Jr.]], [[John Mars]], and [[Jacqueline Mars]]. In retirement he founded **Ethel M Chocolates** (1980), named after his mother. ## Corporate culture Forrest imposed a regime of absolute privacy: no press interviews, no published financial accounts, no family photos in circulation. This secrecy culture persists across the Mars dynasty today, making the family one of the least publicly visible among America's wealthiest. ## Why he matters for the KB Forrest is the pivotal figure in the [[Mars Family]] dynasty — the one who converted a single candy brand into a $50 billion+ global conglomerate, then divided ownership equally among three children. His insistence on secrecy makes the Mars fortune the hardest major American dynasty to map in the KB. He died July 1, 1999, in Miami, with a fortune of ~$4 billion.