America’s Youngest Female Billionaire: Lynsi Torres

Yes, this is a racing story.  So I’m scanning the business news pages online to do some research on marketing when I see a headline titled: “Youngest American Woman Billionaire Found With In-N-Out“.  Huh?!

Now what’s more surprising to me than anything else is the billionaire part.  I realized long ago who was in charge or heir apparent at In-N-Out Burger and that she was to be heading the company sooner or later.  Oh, and she liked drag racing.  What I didn’t know was how much money the company – or in this case Mrs. Lynsi Torres – was worth.  To be clear, the 30 year old Lynsi Torres, who was formerly Lynsi Martinez, Lynsi Jeremiah and Lynsi Snyder — she’s on her third marriage — is the sole heir to the In-N-Out Burger business fortune that is currently worth more than $1.1 billion.

Background   

If you don’t know about In-N-Out Burger, it’s a chain of fast food restaurants that was established in the Los Angeles area originally and then became a Southern California staple for years.  The company had or has a cult following.  They finally started growing the business outside of California but are still mainly in the West.  Their menu is simple and originally they were drive thru only businesses.  You can go here, for more info on In-N-Out.

But back to the billionaire status.  What I didn’t realize or think clearly on, was the fact I mentioned earlier in that there are no heirs to the business.  She was the sole grandchild to the original owners of the business.

Her uncle Rich Snyder did a good job of building the business back in the ’80s but he died in a plane accident.  Lynsi’s father Guy took over and continued the company’s slow but steady growth until he died of an overdose 14 years ago.  Esther, Lynsi’s grandmother, had the reigns until her death seven years ago.  There is a current president of the company but over the next four years, Lynsi will gradually obtain control while taking over by the time she is 35.

Drag racing mother of two  

Lynsi has two children from her second marriage but has since divorced from Mr. Martinez and is now married to a Mr. Torres, who by the way is a fellow drag racer himself.  As I mentioned before, Lynsi drives a Top Sportsman ’70 Barracuda as well as a Super Gas Camaro (that’s her with the Wally).  She’s been going to the races since she was two because as many know, In-N-Out has been a big supporter of NHRA drags going back to the ’80s.

I was a big fan of the company and Mark Oswald, the driver of the In-N-Out Funny Car during the early ’90s.  I always remembered that and decided to attack In-N-Out Burgers like a bulldog for a sponsorship, trying to clue them in on the advantages of Nostalgia drag racing; that coupled with my father’s general knowledge of local drag racing  has kept me informed on who this newest billionaire is.  I’m just befuddled that the little burger joint is now worth more than a billion dollars.

For now, she loves drag racing but shies from the spotlight and isn’t prone to being part of the normal scheme of things.  Hmmm, I should be able to show her the natural advantages of a Nostalgia drag racing sponsorship …