Lynsi Torres, the heiress of the popular West Coast burger chain In-N-Out Burger, has been named America’s youngest female billionaire by a Bloomberg Businessweek profile.
In-N-Out Burger is a West Coast fast food sensation that has earned its owner billions of dollars in revenue thanks to a traditional menu, amazing customer service, tasty food, and a cult-like following.
Lynsi Torres is only 30-years-old but after she inherited the California based burger chain, she instantly become one the youngest and most secretive billionaires America has seen in quite some time.
Torres may be living it up in her posh $17.4 million mansion, but don’t think you’ll catch her out and about flaunting her fortune.
Many experts in the business world have never even heard of the fast food heiress before, but they do know a thing or two about In-N-Out Burger.
“I have no clue about her,” said Janet Lowder, a Rancho Palos Verdes, California, restaurant consultant.
While Lowder did know about the chain’s extensive family history, she had no idea that there was a granddaughter left to take over the successful business after her grandmother Esther Snyder passed away.
“I was even surprised there was a granddaughter,” Lowder admitted.
Another industry expert, Technomic’s Goldin, wasn’t surprised by the billionaires’ quiet nature considering the entire family management has had a history of keeping to themselves.
“I’ve been in the industry a long time, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of their people at an industry meeting,” he said. “They’re very quiet. That’s their culture.”
While In-N-Out Burger can be spotted in hundreds of locations in the U.S today, it used to be nothing more than a family run burger shop.
It took quite a few years for the one shop to expand into 18 under the ownership of her grandfather Harry.
In 1976, Harry passed away and the restaurant was inherited by his second son Rich who took over as president. Under Rich’s ownership, In-N-Out Burger had a massive expansion as it grew from a mere 18 stores to almost 100.
After Rich died in a plane crash in 1993, it was Lynsi’s father’s turn to take over the company and he continued the chain’s rapid expansion.
Harry Guy Snyder, the current owner’s father, helped the company expand to a whopping 140 locations.
Unfortunately, Harry passed away at the age of 49 after overdosing on prescription drugs in 1999.
He left behind quite a lot for his little girl, however. In addition to leaving her the billion dollar fast food chain his estate included 27 cars and other motorized vehicles.
So who is the mysterious heiress to the popular chain exactly?
Torres is a spunky woman in her 30s who inherited her love of drag racing from her father Harry.
Technically, she only owns half of the company but she will soon become the full owner of In-N-Out in five years, on her 35th birthday.
For now, she is busy spending time racing cars with her third husband who loves drag racing and muscles cars just as much as his rich wife.
It turns out that the successful chain owner doesn’t have much expertise in the business field, but through the help of her family she has learned how to manage the ever expanding brand.
“Torres has little formal management training and no college degree,” another industry expert pointed out.
Under Torres ownership In-N-Out has been reaching regions other than the West Coast and even reached Texas in 2011. Since then, 16 of the popular burger joints have already sprang up around the Lone Star state.
While she will likely continue living in privacy, In-N-Out is well on its way to having locations all over the U.S in just a matter of years.
