We might not often think about it as we unwrap a candy bar or crack open a seltzer, but there’s a massive machine powering the industry that brings us all the snacks we like best. Before products hit the shelves, they must be conceived, marketed, tested, packaged, shipped—a system that takes thousands of people to run smoothly. And all the way at the top of the pecking order are the billionaires who own the companies.
Forbes has released its World’s Billionaires List for 2023, a list that contains truly unfathomable amounts of wealth and excess. Whether these people came into their money via family inheritance or had the spark of an idea that grew into a massive corporation, they all have more money than can be spent in a thousand lifetimes—and many of them get it from the foods and drinks we enjoy every day. These are the people made richest by our snacking.