#24: In-N-Out Burger
Year Founded: 1948
Original Location: Baldwin Park, CA
There is almost no fast food chain quite as synonymous with California as In-N-Out Burger, which was first founded in Baldwin Park. Founded by Esther and Harry Snyder in 1948, In-N-Out was to be the first drive-thru hamburger business in California.
While their idea was successful, by the time their son Rich took over the business in 1976, it had only 18 locations. Rich brought on a significant expansion but suddenly died in a plane crash in 1993, so his brother Guy took over until his passing in 1999. Today, the sole owner and president is Lynsi Snyder, Guy’s only daughter, who became the youngest American billionaire at age 20 in 2012.