The journey, which started as a humble retail store in Arkansas in 1962, with a simple promise of “the lowest prices anytime, anywhere”, decades later, has become one of the biggest retail store chains in the world.
Walmart empire
The owners of the Walmart empire, the Walton family, became the world’s richest in 2024, according to Bloomberg, after their stocks shot up by as high as 80 cents last year.
When the Walton family became the world’s richest in 2024, their combined wealth was declared a whopping $432.4 billion.
Established in 1962 by Sam Walton and his brother Bud Walton, who both died over 30 years ago, the Walmart empire has continued to soar with a few dips here and there over its six-decade-long run.
The empire was then strategically divided among the brothers’ seven heirs—Sam Walton’s children Alice, Jim, and Rob; daughter-in-law Christy and her son Lukas; and Bud Walton’s daughters – Ann and Nancy, according to Forbes.
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The empire still largely focuses on the retail outlets but has ventured into several other businesses to add to its immense wealth.
Sam Walton’s eldest son, Rob Walton, took over as the company’s chairman after his father’s death in 1992 and served till 2015. He then retired from the board of directors at Walmart last year.
His son-in-law, Greg Penner, now holds the chairman position at Walmart. Rob Walton, whose net worth according to Forbes is $113.3 billion, also bought an American football team, the Denver Broncos, along with his daughter and son-in-law for $4.7 billion in 2022.
The family’s interest and ownership of sports teams doesn’t end here. The husband of Bud Walton’s eldest daughter, Ann Walton-Kroenke, Stan Kroenke, also owns several sports franchises, including the St. Louis Rams football team, Denver Nuggets basketball team, Arsenal Football Club, pro hockey’s Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth lacrosse team, and Colorado Rapids soccer team, according to Bloomberg. Stan Kroenke also served on Walmart’s board between 1996 and 2001.
Alice Walton, Sam Walton’s only daughter, has about $113 billion to her name, making her the world’s richest woman.
Instead of serving on the company’s board, Alice’s interests lie majorly in art and philanthropy. She opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2011.
Jim Walton, Sam Walton’s youngest son, is chairman of the family’s Arvest Bank Group and has a net worth of $112.1 billion, according to Forbes. His daughter Alice is the chairperson of the family’s philanthropic Walton Family Foundation.
