Meet the Mars family, heirs to the Snickers and M&M's candy empire, who spent years avoiding the limelight and are America's third-wealthiest family 'dynasty'

• The Mars family has a net worth of nearly $90 billion and helms Mars Inc., the candy empire that brought you Snickers, Twix, and M&M's.
• The six family members that rank on the Forbes 400 list have a reported fortune of $72 billion, making them America's third-richest family "dynasty," according to a recent report.
• The Mars family is known for keeping to themselves, but in recent years, they've started to speak out.

The Mars family sits on top of a delicious empire.

They're the heirs to the candy throne that is Mars Inc., maker of Snickers, Mars Bars, Milky Way Bars, Twix, M&M's, and more - not to mention a portfolio of PetCare products, drinks, and gum, among others.

The 106-year-old company has helped the Mars family build a reported fortune of $89.7 billion, according to Bloomberg. The six family members who rank on the Forbes 400 list share $72 billion of that fortune, making them America's third-richest family wealth "dynasty," according to the Institute for Policy Studies' "Billionaire Bonanza" report.

Press-shy and limelight-avoidant, the Mars family remains a bit of a mystery. They've been known to keep the company "notoriously private," in the words of Business Insider's Cadie Thompson. The headquarters have been called "anonymous" by Guardian reporter Andrew Clark.

However, Mars Inc. has more recently started trying to shed its secretive history. During the last few years, the Mars family and company executives have started to speak out.

Here's what we know about the Mars family and Mars Inc.