The youngest female billionaire in the U.S. has made a fortune on fast food.

The youngest female billionaire in the U.S. has made a fortune on fast food.

But the story of Lynsi Torres, the 30-year-old owner and president of the beloved In-N-Out Burger chain and one of the world's youngest billionaires, largely remains a mystery, Bloomberg reported.

Torres, who has no college degree and little business training, inherited the West Coast-based company from her grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder. Torres's family has transformed the couple's initial, tiny drive-thru shop into an estimated $1.1 billion empire.

The Christian-themed chain, founded in 1948, now includes almost 280 stores in five states and boasts a slew of big-name fans, including billionaire Warren Buffett. Hoards of loyal customers line up for hours before a new store's opening to get a taste of the chain's famed "animal style" patties.

Lynsi Torres
Bob Johnson/Bloomberg
Lynsi Torres has watched her family expand In-N-Out from a single drive-through hamburger stand founded in 1948 in Baldwin Park into a fast-food empire worth more than $1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

RELATED: BURGER JOINTS LIKE IN-N-OUT GO GLOBAL

"They have done a fantastic job of building and maintaining a kind of cult following," Bob Goldin, executive vice president of  food industry research firm Technomic Inc. in Chicago, told Bloomberg. "Someone would love to buy them."

Despite her success, Torres has kept notoriously mum on both her public and private life — and rarely gives interviews.

The hamburger heiress, who has been married three times, was named head of the company in 2010 following a series of deaths in the family.

BURGERS6N_2_WEB
Susan Goldman/Bloomberg News
In-N-Out Burger, a private company, has not released data on their valuation. The beloved fast-food chain, however, is estimated to be worth $1.1 billion.

Harry Snyder died in 1976. His second son, Rich, served as executive president until he passed away in a plane crash in 1993 at the early age of 41.

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Torres's father, Harry Guy Snyder, then took over and grew the chain to 140 restaurants before he died from a prescription drug overdose in 1999.

Torres' grandmother, Esther Snyder, stayed in control of the company until she passed away at age 86 in 2006. Torres received half ownership of the company when she turned 30 and will receive the second half when she celebrates her 35th birthday.

"I have no clue about her," Janet Lowder, a California restaurant consultant, told Bloomberg. "I was even surprised there was a granddaughter."

In September 2012, Torres made a rare appearance in news headlines for buying a seven-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion, worth $17.4 million, in the swanky California neighborhood of Bradbury, according to Realtor.com.

RELATED: THE BEST BURGERS IN THE U.S.

While she's silent about most other things, Torres has been outspoken about her interest in drag racing. Her current husband is race car driver Val Torres Jr.

BURGERS6N_6_WEB
In-N-Out Burger via Facebook
The Snyder Family — Harry and Esther with sons, Guy and Rich — standing outside a classic In-N-Out Burger.

"My father had a passion for drag racing and that passion lives in me," Lynsi Torres once told CompetitionPlus. "Drag racing has played a big role in In-N-Out's history and it is also an important part of my family history."

Torres, however, is not alone in her quest to stay out of the public eye. Goldin said most of In-N-Out's upper management employees are the same.

"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 told Bloomberg. "They're very quiet. That's their culture."

RELATED: AMERICA'S BEST BURGER CITIES: 'THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE FOR A BURGER THAN THE U.S.A.'

BURGERS6N_5_WEB
tobesfo via Flickr
In-N-Out-Burger has bible phrases on their cups

Compared its employees, the company itself has been relatively open about its religious views.

Discerning customers will notice that the company prints biblical verses on its soft drinks cups and food wrappers. Some of their milkshake cups, for example, cite "Proverbs 3:5,” which reads "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

In-N-Out has never made any explicit statement about the decision to add the religious notations, which Rich Snyder called for in 1987.

“He told me, 'It's just something I want to do,” company spokesperson Carl Van Fleet once told USA Today.

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Patrick Stewart9 minutes ago
Is this a Mc Donalds clone?
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0

msiletta26 minutes ago
Sorry, 30 years old and married three times is a very poor track record. Certainly no Christian influences there.
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+1

zippychimp35 minutes ago
Wow, a lot more people would need to die for me to become a billionaire.
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1 reply
+1

richardc436 minutes ago
LOL.
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7FootLeft39 minutes ago
Adding a couple of Bible verses hardly makes it a Christian themed restaurant.
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+1

Carl_Switzer41 minutes ago
They're obviously a Christian establishment, why else would they print Bible verses on their packaging. Good for them!! I now have a new favorite burger place to add to my favorite chicken place, Chik-fil-A.
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2 replies
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Redhook648 minutes ago
Really she is some example of a CHRISTIAN BASED RESTAURANT ! She has been married three times.Is that being a good Christian. Give me a break.People like you are a joke .Such hypocrites !
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1 reply
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Redhook646 minutes ago
Oh something else remember Judas was a Christian, look what he did.
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MarcDonato55 minutes ago
Hey Christine Roberts: try doing a little fact checking, will you? In-N-Out is NOT "Christian-them­ed." True, they do have bible chapter and verse on their packaging (for example "John 3:16" on the bottom of their soda cups) but it's not as though there are crosses adorning the walls or employees preaching to you about the gospel.
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+1

Slick Skillet1 hour ago
If a burger chain is going to be chick-owned, there couldn't be a more appropriate name than "In-N-Out" LOL
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+4

Grape Soda2 hours ago
Did they say billionaire? I love her. She could weigh 400 pounds, have one eye brow over both eyes and braid the hair in her arm pits. If she has a billion dollars in the bank, I love that woman.
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3 replies
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Logical Conclusion1 hour ago
P r o s t i t u t i n g yourself for money will NOT buy happiness.!...
Stop drinking so many sodas.... The SUGAR has gone to your brain..
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2 replies
+1

Grape Soda59 minutes ago
As Redd Foxx said, "Money can't buy happiness but it sure can buy something that looks and tastes like it."
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Slick Skillet57 minutes ago
It can't buy happiness, but it's extremely effective at warding off some of the more common forms of unhappiness.
+2

Metzgie2 hours ago
Double Double, Animal Style.
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coninfa672 hours ago
She doesn't like to be in the public eye. Yet, by posing there, she is in the public eye.Becareful with those Alligators lurking around you. You are a beautiful Lady.
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4 replies
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BoBo Cozilla47 minutes ago
Beautiful? lol
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1 reply
+1

Open Your Eyes25 minutes ago
Well, yeah-she's 'billionaire beautiful'.
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Acobra1636 minutes ago
If you look carefully, you will see tha tall of the pictures are the same shot, some simply cropped. In the closeup, you can see she is at a race. It looks like a firesuit top around her waist and the background looks like race track scenery. From the article, she has been outspoken about her love of drag racing, she mentions the long association of her family business with drag racing and she is married to a racer. It is not out of line then that she would have her picture taken at a race...
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1 reply
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Acobra1634 minutes ago
Correction! The poses are similar but she is showing her teeth in one shot. Still taken at the same event...
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