Jackie Mars – Jersey’s Halloween Candy Icon

Jacqueline “Jackie” Mars is an American heiress, investor, and philanthropist who resided in Bedminster, New Jersey. Known at one time as the richest woman on the planet, Halloween just wouldn’t be the same without the Mars family and their confectionery collection of the Milky Way, Three Musketeers, and M&Ms. So, when you’re out this Halloween looking for some great candy, you have to thank the Mars family of New Jersey.

The family name is associated with some of the most popular and famous candies (and other products) in the world: Milky Way, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, M&M’s, DoveBars, Uncle Ben’s rice, Pedigree, and Whiskas pet food. Mars is four times the size of its candy company rival, Hershey. In 2019, Jackie Mars’ estimated net worth was $24.5 billion, making her the richest woman in New Jersey history.

Jacqueline Mars is the daughter of Audrey Ruth (Meyer) and Forrest Mars, Sr., and the granddaughter of Frank C. Mars, the founder of the American candy company Mars, Incorporated. As of October 2022, she was ranked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as the 22nd-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$53 billion. She retired from Mars in 2001. In June 2019, Forbes listed her as the wealthiest resident living in Virginia. She also contributes to different causes through her philanthropic initiative, Mars Foundation. Among her several philanthropic contributions are donations to the National Symphony Orchestra and Australian Outback doctors. A horse lover, she is the Vice President of the U.S. Equestrian Team and is still a trustee of the U.S. Equestrian Team located near her former Jersey home.

Early Years

Mars graduated from Miss Hall’s School in Massachusetts with a degree in anthropology from Bryn Mawr College. She was married to David H. Badger in 1961 and has three children. Badger and Mars were divorced in 1984. Mars married Hank Vogel two years later and divorced in 1994. Jacqueline Mars and her brothers, John Franklin Mars and Forrest Edward Mars Jr, took over the family business after her father died in 1999. John is the company’s CEO, while Mars herself was the corporate vice president of Mars Inc. until 2016. No one from the Mars family currently holds any executive position in the company.

Shortly after the company began production as “M&M’s Ltd, Newark, NJ”, the tiny chocolates became a favorite of American GIs serving in World War II. Packaged in cardboard tubes, they were quickly adopted by the military, who included them in American soldiers’ C-rations because they could withstand extreme temperatures. In the hot tropics, these candies were especially practical.

The 12th Street candy factory was running full blast during World War II. At peak production, it produced 200,000 pounds of M&Ms a week, nearly all of which went to the military.

By war’s end, with help from Ingmar Monson, an engineering contractor from Fairfield, NJ, who worked 80-90 hours a week, the Newark plant’s capacity was gradually increased to 600,000 pounds per week. By the 1950s, the capacity was further expanded to reach its maximum output—1 million pounds a week, running in variable shifts, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 24 hours a day.

The M&M operation relocated to Hackettstown in 1958, still maintaining its world headquarters. The current CEO and Co-President is Forrest E. Mars Jr., son of the company founder, Forrest E. Mars Sr. Today, the former Newark M&M factory is the site of Tony’s Pallets, a firm that makes wooden pallets — the platforms used for storing and moving cargo or freight.

What Does M&M Stand For?

What are the Top 10 Mars Candy Bars?
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Side Story:
Don’t Forget Smarties – Another Jersey Candy Icon

The Smarties candy company dates back to 1949, when third-generation candy maker Edward Dee sailed to America from South Hampton, England, with his wife, Anita, and son, Jonathan. Arriving initially in Manhattan, they moved immediately to Elizabeth, New Jersey, rented a garage in Bloomfield, and began cranking out Smarties armed with a repurposed pellet-making machine and a wrapping machine.

Jonathan, Liz’s uncle, eventually helped run the Smarties company, which has been located in Union since 1967. More than 70 employees continue to churn out over a billion rolls of the tart treats every year. Today, Liz Dee serves as co-president of the Smarties Candy Company, along with her cousin Sarah Dee and sister Jessica Sawyer, making it one of New Jersey’s longest-running family businesses.

Mars Family Tidbits

• Jacqueline Mars owns an estimated one-third of Mars, the world’s largest candy maker, founded by her grandfather.
• America’s third-richest family dynasty.
• Mars also opened its Tennessee getaway home, the Milky Way Farms Racing Stables, to the public for fundraisers and public events. Ethel’s horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1940, securing her “station in mint-julep society.”
• When Forrest Sr. died in 1999, his children – Jacqueline, John, and Forrest Jr. Mars – inherited a stake in the company.
• Jackie worked for the company for nearly 20 years and served on the board until 2016.
• Jackie’s son Stephen Badger is on Mars’ board of directors.
• Jackie Mars serves on the board of the National Archives and was formerly on the board of the Washington National Opera.
• Her brother John owns an estimated third of Mars, and her late brother Forrest Jr.’s four daughters own the rest.
• Jacqueline’s son, Stephen Badger, is the chairman of Mars Inc
• Queen Elizabeth made Jacqueline’s brother John an honorary knight.
• More than 400 million M&Ms are produced in the US every year.
• “The philosophy of the family and the philosophy of the business is that it’s a family business,” Pamela told Campden FB. “More importantly, it’s a privately held business, and that’s how we’d like to keep it.”

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