Lynsi Snyder's life hasn't been that easy. The billionaire In-N-Out heiress has seen a lot of family tragedy. Those tragedies led her to be the full owner of her family's burger empire by the tender age of 35. She has been president of In-N-Out since 2010. Under her guidance, the chain has opened more than 80 new locations. She is the youngest American billionaire, with a net worth of $3 billion.
Lynsi's grandparents opened the first In-N-Out in Los Angeles in 1948. After her grandfather died in 1976, her uncle, Rich Snyder, took over the family business. Uncle Rich ran In-N-Out until he was killed in a plane crash in 1993. At that point, Lynsi's dad, Gary Snyder, took over the family business. His mother supervised Gary's tenure at In-N-Out as Gary was a drug addict. Gary was at the helm of the burger empire until he died from a prescription drug overdose in 1999, when Lynsi was 17-years-old. In 2006, Lynsi's grandmother died and as the only biological Snyder heir, Lynsi inherited the entire company. She became president of In-N-Out when she was just 28 years old.
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Lynsi once pursued an amateur boxing career and she loves drag racing. Lynsi married her high school sweetheart, Jeremiah Seawell, in 2000, shortly after her 18th birthday. They divorced in 2003. Lynsi married former In-N-Out employee Richard Martinez in 2004. She and Martinez had twin boys together. They divorced in 2011. Lynsi then married race car driver Val Torres in 2011. She had begun dating Torres while still married to Martinez. She and Torres had a son together. They divorced in 2014., Lynsi married former In-N-Out employee Sean Ellingson in 2014. They have a son together.
Lynsi Snyder is notoriously private and press-shy. In a rare interview, she revealed that this is because of two kidnapping attempts when she was younger. The first happened when she was in high school, the second when she was 24 and managing an In-N-Out location. She is a devout Evangelical Christian and despite being famously publicity shy, has spoken several times about her faith. She has said her faith has helped her cope with the many deaths within her family and her previous failed marriages.
Lynsi was named President of In-N-Out on January 1, 2010. She has the same position that her grandfather Harry (1948–1976), uncle Rich (1976–1993), father Guy (1993–1999), and grandmother Esther (1999–2006) held in the past. Lynsi gained control of 50% of the company in 2012 when she turned 30, and gained full control when she turned 35 in 2017. Since Lynsi has been running In-N-Out, she has expanded the chain's reach from four states to six.
Today, In-N-Out has 335 locations across the West and Southwest. Lynsi has made it clear she intends to keep the burger chain the family-owned, privately held business it has always been.
