Wealth, the word itself has been a major drive for even the mildly ambitious. Some people think the end-product of working hard is acquiring a fortune, while some don’t. Either way, the ones with the most coveted lifestyles are often the rich and famous. It could be individuals who have personally acquired so much wealth and it could also be families. Speaking of wealthy families, it brings to mind the richest family in the world- the Waltons. The name Walton can be a metaphor for the word ‘wealth’, it’s no surprise that both words begin with the letter ‘W’.
The Walton clan is currently the wealthiest family in both the United States and the world. Their heirship to the Walmart riches coupled with their ownership of more than half the stock has conveniently locked them in this category. Their company, Walmart, happens to be the largest retailer in the world. It is one of the biggest enterprises in the world when it comes to yearly net sales and also has one of the largest amounts of employees in the world.
The Walton’s Walmart was founded by Sam Walton and his brother Bud Walton and has now amassed a fortune worth $238 billion for them. Walmart is widely known as a large self-service store in both suburban and rural America and is famous for its affordable products. The Walmart family owns Arvest Bank, too. This bank operates sixteen banks in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
The Walton’s Net Worth
It has been established for a while now that the Walton family is the richest and one of the most powerful and influential families in the world with their net worth of over $200 billion. It is well known that half of this wealth of theirs is linked to their company- Walmart.
The Walton’s have been able to keep their major investments on a low-key for years but as their net worth continues to increase in billions from sales of some of their Walmart stock, things are getting more difficult to keep away from the prying eyes of the public. It’s been rumored that the Waltons have made sales of nearly $6.5 billion of their Walmart stock right from the beginning of the year 2020.
When talking about the Waltons, the topic of their famous ‘Walton Family Foundation’ cannot be ignored. The pioneer Walton, otherwise known as the founder of Walmart- Sam Walton, begifted an eleemosynary foundation in the year 1987. Initially, this family foundation of the Walton’s had its primary sights on charter schools but as time went by, its wings reached out to cover environmental problems, especially the water-related kinds.
By the year 2016, Alica and Jim Walton did not hesitate to put out a grant of $250 million towards the development of facilities for charter schools. Another establishment of the Walton Family Foundation is the Building Equity Initiative. This was created in order to give charter schools access to capital to build and spread out their facilities.
The Walton Clan’s Investments
Some of the Waltons biggest investments are:
– Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF: They have an investment worth about $2.2 billion here.
– iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF: Their investment here is worth $661 million.
– Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF: The Waltons have an investment worth about $770 million here.
– iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF: Their investment here is worth $281 million.
– Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF: They have an investment worth about $366 million here.
With their numerous investments, they remain the owners of one of the public companies with an extraordinarily huge foothold in business. One of the representatives of Walton Enterprises confirmed that the Walmart Investment Team (otherwise known as WIT) is a cohort that pitches investments on the family’s behalf.
The Walton Enterprises still hasn’t made a complete disclosure of its assets but tax records from trusted sources have revealed that the clan holds stakes in hedge funds that are being operated by Viking Global Investors and Tiger Global Management.
The Walton Heirs
The three most influential heirs of the Walton clan are the three children of Sam Walton. They are Alice, Jim, and Rob Walton. These three have made their mark on the ‘Forbes 400’ list, remaining in the top 20 right from 2001 till date. Alice, Jim, and Rob Walton control the majority stake in the Walton company.
The three family members that serve on the board of directors of Walmart are; Greg Penner (Rob Walton’s son-in-law), Steuart Walton (Rob’s nephew), and Rob Walton himself. The other Walton heirs include:
– Sam Walton’s daughter-in-law, Christy Walton.
– Christy’s son, Lucas Walton.
Bud Walton’s two daughters;
– Ann Walton
– Nancy Walton
About half of Walmart’s stock is possessed by these seven heirs of the co-founders Sam Walton and his brother Bud Walton.
The individual net worths of the Walton heirs otherwise called the breakdown of the Walton clan fortune can be seen below.
– Alice Walton: $64.5 billion
– Jim Walton: $64.2 billion
– Rob Walton: $62 billion
– Lukas Walton: $22.2 billion
– Christy Walton: $10.2 billion
– Nancy Walton Laurie: $7.35 billion
– Ann Walton Kroenke: $6.25 billion
The breakdown shows that Alice Walton and her brothers have managed to amass the greatest wealth amongst all of the Walmart heirs. This makes them the three most powerful and richest Walton heirs.
Conclusion
Amongst all of the families in the United States and the world, the Walton family remains right on top of the value chain as a result of the combination of their Walmart stock and all other investments. With the Walton Family Foundation up and running, the clan’s philanthropic deeds can also be witnessed, all the more fueling their influence. Walmart might be widely known for its low-priced or affordable products, nonetheless, Walmart remains the retail giant.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Does Walmart own Dollar Tree?
No. As of 2022, Walmart does not own Dollar Tree.
2) Is Walmart still owned by the Waltons?
Yes. The Walton clan sold some of Walmart’s stock but still retained almost 50% of it.
3) Who is called the Walmart heiress?
Alice Walton, the only daughter of Sam Walton and the second richest woman in the world.
4) What is Walmart’s daily profit?
The Walmart company makes $40 million in a day. Going further to measure their profit in seconds, they make $466 per second.
