Valerie Mars

Valerie Mars
Born (1959-01-20) January 20, 1959 (age 65)
NationalityAmerican
EducationYale University
Columbia University
OccupationBusinesswoman
SpousePhilip Michael White
Children2
Parent(s)Forrest Mars Jr.
Virginia Cretella
Relativessiblings: Marijke Mars, Pamela Mars-Wright and Victoria B. Mars

Valerie Anne Mars (born 20 January 1959) is an American billionaire heiress and businesswoman.[1] As of June 2021, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated her wealth to be $11.5 billion.[1]

Valerie Mars is a fourth generation member of the Mars family. Her father was late Forrest Mars Jr. (1931–2016). She has three sisters: Marijke Mars, Pamela Mars-Wright and Victoria B. Mars.[2] She inherited about 8 percent stake of Mars Inc. in 2016, which made her a billionaire.[3]

She earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University and an MBA from Columbia University.[3][1] She is married to Philip Michael White (since 1984), and has two sons.[3][4][1][5][6]

She is a senior vice president and head of corporate development for Mars, Inc. Since 2014 she has served as a board member of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.[7][8] She serves also as a board member of Ahlstrom-Munksjö, a Finnish-Swedish stock company (paper industry).[7][9] She is member of the advisory board of Rabobank North America.[7] Her participation in nonprofit organizations include board membership in Conservation International (nature protection)[7][10] and the Open Space Institute (landscape protection, honorary trustee).[11]

  1. ^ a b c d "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Valerie Mars". Bloomberg. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  2. ^ Emily Langer (2016-07-27). "Forrest E. Mars Jr., enigmatic steward of family confectionery, dies at 84". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  3. ^ a b c "Forbes profile: Valerie Mars". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Valerie A. Mars To Wed Teacher". The New York Times. 1984-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  5. ^ "The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on July 16, 1984 · 44". Newspapers.com. 16 July 1984. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  6. ^ "Valerie A. Mars To Wed Teacher - The New York Times". The New York Times. 1984-04-22. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  7. ^ a b c d "Valerie Anne Mars. Non-Executive Director, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V." Bloomberg, bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  8. ^ "Valerie A. Mars". Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., fcagroup.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  9. ^ "Board of Directors". Ahlstrom-Munksjö, ahlstrom-munksjo.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  10. ^ "Board of Directors". Conservation International, conservation.org. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  11. ^ "Board of Trustees". Open Space Institute, openspaceinstitute.org. Retrieved 2018-04-07.