AP/April L. Brown
While some work 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.
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Arkansas in 1962.Sam Walton wearing an original Wal-Mart name tag.
Associated Press
He married Helen Robson on Valentine’s Day in 1942, and together they had four children: Rob, John, Jim, and Alice.The couple had a romantic Valentine’s Day wedding.
April L. Brown/Associated Press
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 of his will had to pay.Sam was very organized with his finances.
Rick Wilking/Reuters
Source: Fortune
He set up his ownership of Walmart’s stock in a family partnership — each of his children held 20% of Walton Enterprises, while he and Helen each held 10%. Helen inherited Sam’s 10% tax-free when he died.The stocks were carefully divided among the family.
Courtesy of Walmart
Source: Fortune
Samuel Robson “Rob” Walton is the oldest Walton child.Rob served as chairman of Walmart for many years.
Reuters
He served as chairman of Walmart until 2015.He retired in June 2015 but remained a director.
Rick T. Wilking / Stringer / Getty Images
Rob recently made a splash by leading an ownership group to buy the Denver Broncos.The team is having a rough 2022 season.
Joe Mahoney/AP
His ownership group, which includes his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and son-in-law, Greg Penner, purchased the NFL team for a record $4.65 billion in summer 2022.Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.
Getty Images
Rob has a house in Paradise Valley, Arizona, near the base of Camelback Mountain.The beautiful Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Tim Roberts Photography/Shutterstock
In the past, protesters have rallied outside of his Arizona home to advocate for better wages and benefits for Walmart workers.Protesters at a Walmart in Boynton Beach, Florida.
J Pat Carter/Associated Press
Rob also has a large collection of vintage cars.Walton’s personal collection not pictured.
Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images
In 2013, he ran his Daytona Coupe, which was worth $15 million at the time, off the tracks and wrecked it. The car was one of only five ever made.The car was totaled in the crash.
AP Photo/Tom Mihalek
John was the second-oldest child. He died in a plane crash in 2005.John (right) with his mother (center) and brother, Rob (left).
April L. Brown/Associated Press
He was married to Christy Walton and had one son, Lukas.Lukas is now 36 years old.
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube
John left about 17% of his wealth to his wife, and he gave the rest to charity and to his son.John was very charitable.
AP
Source: Business Insider
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.John (second from left) pictured with members of his family.
AP Photo/Spencer Tirey
Source: Fortune
In 2013, Christy decided to sell their Jackson Hole mansion. She also sold the family’s ranch for an undisclosed price in 2016 after listing it for $100 million in 2011.The family’s Jackson Hole mansion.
Jackson Hole Real Estate
Source: Curbed and Ranch Marketing Associates
The 8,606-square-foot home was put on the market for $12.5 million.An aerial view of the mansion.
Google Maps
Source: Curbed
James “Jim” Walton is the youngest son.Jim Walton is now 73 years old.
Walmart
He is chairman of the board of the family’s Arvest Bank, which has assets that total more than $26 billion.One of many Arvest Bank locations in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Google Maps
Source: Bloomberg
He also served on the Walmart board before being replaced by his son Steuart in 2016.Jim served on the board for more than a decade.
Rick T. Wilking /Stringer/Getty
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.Jim now manages the family’s finances.
Google Maps
Source: Fortune
The youngest sibling, Alice Walton, is worth $63.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. She has been divorced twice and has no children.Alice is passionate about collecting art.
AP/April L. Brown
Alice has never taken an active role in running the family business.Alice Walton with Jim Walton in 2013.
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Instead, she became a patron of the arts, which she fell in love with at a young age.Alice followed her passion and devoted her life to collecting art.
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.Picasso’s “The Blue Room.”
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Source: The New Yorker
She has an immense private art collection, with original works from Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe.Alice has built a massive collection.
AP Images/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Alice opened a museum in Bentonville called Crystal Bridges in 2011 to house her $500 million private art collection.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.Georgia O’Keeffe, “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1” (1932), Sotheby’s.
Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Source: The Observer
When it opened, Crystal Bridges had four times the endowment of the famous Whitney Museum in New York.A view of the Whitney Museum from the High Line.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
The museum’s grounds are filled with flora …The lucious gardens outside the museum.
Danny Johnston/Associated Press
… and surrounded by streams that make it look like the buildings float on water.The serene setting of the museum.
Jacob Slaton/Reuters
It’s so beautiful that people use it as a wedding and special-events venue.It can host both indoor and outdoor ceremonies.
Weddings at Crystal Bridges/YouTube
Source: Crystal Bridges
Alice is also a breeder of horses.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.Her property was elegantly decorated.
Courtesy of WilliamsTrew
Source: Star-Telegram
It had an initial asking price of $19.75 million, which was reduced to $16.5 million. The working ranch had over 250 acres of pasture and outbuildings for cattle and horses.It was also next to a large lake.
Courtesy of WilliamsTrew
Source: WilliamsTrew
Her other, 4,416-acre Texas ranch was previously listed at a reduced price of $22 million.A huge firepit was built in the backyard.
Courtesy of WilliamsTrew
Source: Fortune
The modest, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home overlooks the Brazos River.A sunset near Brazos River.
Dave Mosher/Business Insider
Alice also owns a two-floor condo on New York’s Park Ave., which she bought for $25 million in 2014.Park Avenue pictured above at night.
Getty Images/Arata Photography
Source: Business Insider
It has more than 52 large windows overlooking Central Park plus a media room, a winding staircase, and more than 6,000 total square feet of space.View of Central Park from the southeast.
evenfh/Shutterstock
Source: Business Insider
In January 2016, Alice donated 3.7 million of her Walmart shares — worth about $225 million at the time — to the family’s nonprofit, the Walton Family Foundation.The Walton Family Foundation website.
Facebook/Walton Family Foundation
Sam and Helen started the foundation as a way to teach their children how to give back and how to work together.The children learned from an early age to be generous with their money.
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube
The charity awards millions of dollars in grants, each helping a cause that aligns with the foundation’s values. According to its website, the foundation awarded $749.5 million in grants in 2020.Alice Walton.
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube
The foundation has three main areas of focus:A project put on by the Walton Family Foundation.
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube
The foundation’s focus on education was led by John. His brother Jim said John was really interested in being able to give parents choices when it came to their child’s schooling.The foundation was dedicated to supporting children’s education.
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube
Source: Walton Family Foundation
Rob spearheaded the foundation’s venture into environmental outreach. One of the first grants they gave helped develop a sustainable fisheries label.Rob launched the environmental and sustainability branch of the foundation.
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube
Source: Walton Family Foundation
A commitment to the family’s home of Arkansas is another large part of the foundation. Whether it’s creating a system of mountain-bike trails through the Ozarks or developing the grounds around Crystal Bridges, the Waltons are celebrating the community that helped their family get to where they are.The Bentonville town square.
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube
Source: Walton Family Foundation
Walmart Inc., which owns Walmart and Sam’s Club, is the largest retailer in the US in terms of revenue, with sales of roughly $573 billion per year.The storefront of a Walmart.
Business Insider/Jessica Tyler
Source: Fortune
When Walmart has a good quarter, the Waltons make hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends.The siblings all together.
AP/April L. Brown
Source: Forbes and The Guardian
The company reported in November 2022 that third-quarter same-store sales in the US had risen 8.2% compared with the year prior.Shoppers leaving Walmart with lots of gifts.
AP/Gunnar Rathbun
Source: Walmart
