Jacqueline Mars
American billionaire and philanthropist, member of Mars family of candy fame
Source: Wikidata — retrieved 8/30/2026 (wikidata)
Profile Summary
Jacqueline Mars is a U.S. billionaire born in 1939 who is identified as a member of the Mars family, known for its candy business. She has an estimated net worth of ~$23.9 billion and is listed in Virginia’s diversified industry category. Wikidata
Business & SEC Activity
Mars remains controlled by descendants of founder Frank C. Mars, with the family’s wealth spanning multiple generations and branches. Recent reporting describes the company as a family-owned food and confectionery business with 115 years of family ownership. NewsAPI
Philanthropy
The available 2023 nonprofit filings list the Mars Foundation in New York with $1,867,388 in assets and $945,543 in grants paid, and Mars Family Foundation Inc. in Wisconsin with $2,891,681 in assets and $218,059 in grants paid. Across the listed foundation records, grants paid totaled $1,163,602 and assets totaled $4,759,069; a separate Texas Mars Foundation record reported $0 in assets and $0 in grants paid. These figures come from Form 990 filings, which nonprofits use to report finances and activities to the IRS. ProPublica 990
Political Activity
FEC records show at least 100 federal contributions; the most recent 100 records in the sample totaled $51,282.71, with $39,665 identified as Democratic contributions and $11,617.71 classified as PAC or other. The largest listed recipients were the Montana Democratic Party at $25,000, Haley Stevens for Senate at $5,000, and Oceans PAC at $5,000. These figures cover only the most recent 100 contributions on file, not her full contribution history. FEC
In the News
Two validated recent articles describe the Mars family’s multigenerational ownership of the candy and food business and its continuing influence in the industry. The coverage identifies the family fortune as spanning five generations and several family branches. NewsAPI
U.S. Presence
Philanthropy
Foundations are matched to a person by name, not by trustee records — so a same-surname family foundation can land here in error. Every entity below links to its full IRS filing; if one doesn’t belong, tell us at hello@skylarkcreations.com and we’ll pull it.
Political Contributions
These figures cover the 100 most recent federal contributions on file, not the full record. The total, party split, top recipients and dates below are all computed over that sample, so each is a floor rather than a complete figure.
By Party (in the sample)
Top Recipients (in the sample)
Matched by name only. These are the donations the FEC lists under this person’s name — so a different person with the same name can show up here too.
Score Breakdown
The PBS is a weighted average of 2 components. The formula is open and versioned — the weight percentages below show how much each component contributes to the final score.
Evidenced charitable giving — built on what they actually give each year, not parked assets. Dominated by generosity (annual giving relative to net worth — the share of your fortune you give), plus the absolute scale of that giving, plus a small nudge for signing the Giving Pledge (a commitment, not a realized action).
Data: ProPublica 990 charitable disbursements, net worth, The Giving Pledge registry
How much sourced, public accountability data exists — net worth, political contributions, SEC filings, foundation 990s, news coverage, and a verified profile. More public disclosure scores higher.
Data: FEC, SEC EDGAR, ProPublica 990s, GDELT / NewsAPI, Wikidata
Formula (v2): PBS = 65% x Philanthropy + 35% x Transparency
Scored on 8/31/2026 on a 0–100 scale. The score uses only the signals we have populated data for. Goal Impact, Controversy, and Community Approval are deferred until that data exists — Phase 1 goal adoption, controversy detection, and community votes respectively.
All data is sourced from public records. Each section links to its original source. View on Wikidata