How A Broke Candy Maker Started The Second Richest Family in America

How History Works・2 minutes read

The Mars Corporation, led by the secretive Mars family, has a rich history of business success and innovation, with guiding principles of quality and efficiency. The family's legacy includes strict upbringing, successful ventures in different markets, and challenges in generational succession, shaping the future of the Mars Empire.

Insights

  • The Mars Corporation, led by the Mars family, emphasizes core values like quality, responsibility, and efficiency, shaping their success and fostering a unique company culture.
  • The Mars family's legacy is characterized by a blend of business success, innovation, and a strict upbringing that influenced the next generation's entrepreneurial endeavors and approach to running the empire, highlighting the importance of family values in shaping business practices and strategies.

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Recent questions

  • What products does the Mars Corporation produce?

    The Mars Corporation produces popular products like Twix, M&M's, and Milky Way, dominating various markets including pet food, pasta sauces, and chewing gum.

  • Who founded the Mars Corporation and when?

    The Mars Corporation was founded by Franklin Clarence Mars, born on September 24, 1883, who overcame challenges like polio to establish a chocolate empire.

  • What are the guiding principles of the Mars Corporation?

    The guiding principles of the Mars Corporation include quality, responsibility, mutuality, efficiency, and freedom, shaping their success and unique company culture.

  • How did the Mars family expand their business internationally?

    The Mars family expanded their business internationally through ventures led by Victoria Mars in North America, Forrest Jr. in Australia, and John in the Netherlands, establishing successful ventures in pet food and chocolate production.

  • What challenges does the Mars family face in succession planning?

    The Mars family faces challenges in generational succession and the rarity of family-owned companies surviving beyond the fourth generation, raising uncertainty about the future of the Mars Empire.

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Summary

00:00

"The Mars Family: A Legacy of Success"

  • The Mars Corporation, a multi-billion dollar confectionary giant, is run by a tight-lipped family known for their secrecy in both personal and business matters.
  • The company has a rich history with popular products like Twix, M&M's, and Milky Way, dominating various markets including pet food, pasta sauces, and chewing gum.
  • The Mars family's success story begins with Franklin Clarence Mars, born on September 24, 1883, who overcame challenges like polio to establish a chocolate empire.
  • Franklin's son, Forrest Mars, played a pivotal role in the company's growth, introducing innovative products like the Milky Way bar and later the Mars Bar in the UK.
  • Forrest's business acumen led to the creation of M&M's through a partnership with Bruce Murray, son of Hershey's president, and a focus on efficiency and quality in production.
  • The Mars Corporation's guiding principles include quality, responsibility, mutuality, efficiency, and freedom, shaping their success and unique company culture.
  • Forrest's strict upbringing of his children, Victoria, Forrest Jr., and John, involved assigning them new businesses to start from scratch to prove their capabilities.
  • Victoria Mars, the chairwoman of the board, led the expansion of Mars Corporation into North America, emphasizing the need for increased production capacity.
  • Forrest Jr. and John faced challenges in Australia and the Netherlands, respectively, to establish successful ventures in pet food and chocolate production.
  • The Mars family's legacy is marked by a blend of business success, innovation, and a strict upbringing that shaped the next generation's approach to running the empire.

14:46

Succession Challenges in Mars Family Business

  • The Modern Day headquarters, reflecting their father's principles, feature potted plants as their main luxury, with executives still doing their own photocopying and no company cars, reserved parking spots, or first-class air travel. After retiring in 1973, Forrest set up a high-end chocolate business named after his mother, which his sons eventually bought to enter the luxury market and possibly step out of their father's shadow. The Mars family is tasked with proving they can run their own company before potentially taking over the family business, but with challenges of generational succession and the rarity of family-owned companies surviving beyond the fourth generation, the future of the Mars Empire remains uncertain.
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