YOUNG BURGER HEIRESS: At age 23, became the primary beneficiary of In-N-Out Burger, the beloved fast-food chain her grandparents founded in Baldwin Park in 1948. In May 2017, when she turned 35, took full-ownership of the Irvine-based company, maintaining her title as president.
FAMILY HISTORY: Only grandchild of chain founders Harry and Esther Snyder. Became sole heiress of the chain, after the Snyders’ two sons, Rich and Lynsi’s father, Guy, passed away. Rich died after his plane crashed in Orange County in 1993. Guy died from an accidental overdose in 1999. Lynsi was 17. The chain’s famous hand-pressed burgers, served on a toasted sponge dough bun, are craved by loyal fans from Hollywood A-listers to corporate giants.
THE NUMBERS: As the chain grows, the 43-year-old’s wealth also increases as In-N-Out remains a privately held chain. No franchising, where operators get a large cut. Stores logged $2.4B in sales in 2024, up from $2.1B in the previous year. As of press time, the chain had 423 stores with four coming online soon, including one each in Washington state and Colorado. Company is OC’s largest woman-owned business and the region’s third-largest restaurant chain behind Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
IMPACT: Since becoming president in 2010, has grown the chain’s units by 76% – expanding beyond its core California footprint by adding restaurants in Oregon, Texas, Colorado and Idaho. In-N-Out rarely makes menu changes, but Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson has overseen several food tweaks since taking charge: added hot cocoa, scrapped high fructose corn syrups, added oat milk creamer and removed artificial dyes.
HQ RELOCATING: All eyes are on Tennessee – its farthest push east to date. Openings are coming in 2026 with its “Eastern Territory” office opening in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. Announced in early 2025, In-N-Out is ditching its Irvine headquarters in 2029 and returning to its corporate roots in Baldwin Park. “Some of our associates will be relocating to Tennessee, which makes it even more important to centralize our western headquarters in one location, and our company’s deepest roots are in Baldwin Park,” Snyder-Ellingson said. “Our West Coast family will be together in one place, where In-N-Out Burger began.”
GOODBYE CALI: In a podcast interview released July 18, Snyder-Ellingson, who grew up in California, says she is moving to Tennessee. “There’s a lot of great things about California, but raising a family is not easy here; doing business is not easy here.” A few days later, she had to calm the backlash on what some saw as dissing California and fears that the company was also leaving, saying on the X platform, “We’re not leaving California or leaving our roots behind. Each of our locations is here to stay.”
AUTHOR: In 2023, released a book highlighting the “inside story” of the burger chain’s history that included interviews with employees who worked with Harry and Esther, sticklers when it came to quality control and cleanliness. “On Jan. 1, 2010, when I was 27, it was time to begin. Mark became the chief operating officer, and I stepped into the role of president. People ask me if I felt ready. That’s hard to answer … But I think if you wait until you’re perfectly ready to do something, you’ll never do it.”
HOBBIES: Loves drag racing and plays in the In-N-Out band, .48 Special, alongside her husband, Sean Ellingson. Members are In-N-Out employees.
PHILANTHROPY: Founded Slave 2 Nothing Foundation in 2016 with the mission to free people from being enslaved to any person or substance. In 2023, the devout Christian gave undisclosed gift to Biola University to help build a new $74M studio facility for the college’s Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts. The gift also created a new scholarship dubbed the In-N-Out Burger Scholars Fund for foster and at-risk youth. In May, Costa Mesa-based Vanguard University received a $900K grant from the In-N-Out Burger Foundation.
IN HER WORDS: “This partnership with Vanguard University continues the mission of the In-N-Out Burger Foundation, empowering even more students to pursue their education and build brighter futures. I believe my family would be proud to know their legacy continues through this gift and the impact it will make for years to come.”
