B arbara Tyson is an American heiress and a major shareholder in Tyson Foods, one of the world's largest producers of meat and poultry. She is the aunt of the company's current chairman, John H. Tyson, and the sister-in-law of the late Don Tyson, who transformed the family's small chicken business into a global food giant. The company was founded by her husband's grandfather, John W. Tyson, in the 1930s.

Barbara's husband, Randal Tyson, was the head of the company before his untimely death in 1986. After his passing, she inherited his significant stake in the family's publicly traded company. While she has served on the company's board of directors in the past, her role has primarily been that of a major shareholder rather than an active executive. Her fortune is tied to the performance of the massive food processing company that bears her family's name.