The Walton family empire: Inside the lives of the billionaire Walmart heirs collectively worth more than Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos
September 1, 20240
The Walton siblings.
AP/April L. Brown
The Walmart heirs’ combined net worth is over $328 billion, according to Bloomberg.
In public, the Waltons live relatively modest lifestyles despite their wealth.
Here’s how they spend their fortune.
The combined wealth of the Walmart heirs — which include founder Sam Walton’s children, Rob, Jim, and Alice, as well as his grandson Lukas — is more than $328 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Together, they’re significantly ahead of the top names on the list, such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, or Mark Zuckerberg.
While some have worked in the family business — whether that’s serving on the company board or working to manage the family’s wealth — others chose to pursue areas of personal passion.
Sam Walton, the original man behind the company that now encompasses both Walmart and Sam’s Club, set his family up for financial success when he divided the ownership before he died.
He wasn’t a man of flashy luxury, but you can see how his children are living a slightly more lavish life now. Here’s a look at how the Walton family empire spends its money:
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962.
Sam and Helen had a Valentine’s Day wedding.
April L. Brown/Associated Press
Together, they had four children: Rob, John, Jim, and Alice.
By the time Sam died in 1992, he had set up the company ownership in a way that minimized the estate taxes anyone on the receiving end would have to pay.
The stocks were carefully divided among the family.
John served in Vietnam as a Green Beret. When he returned from the war he held a series of jobs — like the Walmart company pilot, a crop duster, and the owner a few yachting companies — before becoming a Walmart board member.
The family had a mansion in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The 8,606-square-foot home was put on the market for $12.5 million.
Jim Walton is now 76.
Walmart
He is chairman of the board of the family’s Arvest Bank Group. One of the state’s largest banks today, Arvest Bank has assets totaling more than $26 billion.
Jim served on the board for more than a decade.
Rick T. Wilking/Stringer/Getty Images
Now, he presides over Walton Enterprises — the private company that deals with the investments and finances of the Walton family only — from modest offices in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Alice Walton is the youngest of Walmart founder Sam Walton’s children.
AP/April L. Brown
Alice has never taken an active role in running the family business.
Alice has spent millions building her art collection.
D Dipasupil/Getty Images
When she was 10, she bought her first work of art: a reproduction of Picasso’s “Blue Nude” for about $2, she told The New Yorker.
The museum displays both paintings and sculptures, like this one by Alexander Calder (center).
Danny Johnston/Associated Press
The collection includes a Georgia O’Keeffe painting that Alice spent $44.4 million on in 2014 — the biggest sale for a woman’s piece of art in history.
Besides art, she loves spending time with horses.
Associated Press
Her Millsap, Texas, property, Rocking W Ranch, sold to the Three Amigos Investment Group of Kermit, Texas, in September 2017 for an undisclosed amount.
Rob spearheaded the foundation’s venture into environmental protection. One of the first grants they gave helped develop a sustainable fisheries label.
