Walton family

This article is about the Walton family, founders of Walmart. For the television program, see The Waltons.

The Walton family is an American family whose collective fortune derived from Walmart makes them the richest family in the United States,^[a] and, as of December 2024, the richest family in the world.^[4][5]

Walton
Business family
Sam Walton, founder of Walmart
Etymology	Walton (surname); for "a place with the suffix tun ('town, farm, hamlet') and one of the prefixes wald ('a wood'), walesc ('foreigner') or walh ('farm worker')"
Founder	Sam Walton (1918–1992)
Distinctions	Wealthiest family in the world (US$432 billion; 2024)
Website	WaltonFamilyFoundation.org

Overview

The three most prominent living members (Jim, Rob, and Alice Walton) have consistently been in the top twenty of the Forbes 400 list since 2001, as were John (d. 2005) and Helen (d. 2007) prior to their deaths. Christy Walton took her husband John's place in the ranking after his death. The majority of the family's wealth derives from the heritage of Bud and Sam Walton, who were the co-founders of Walmart. Walmart is the world's largest retailer, one of the world's largest business enterprises in terms of annual revenue, and, with just over 2.2 million employees, the world's largest private employer.

The Walton family's wealth is majority held through the investment holding company Walton Enterprises.^[6]

As of December 2014^[update], the Waltons collectively owned 50.8 percent of Walmart.^[7] In 2018, the family sold some of their company's stock and now owns just under 50%.^[8] In December 2024, the Walton family's net worth was estimated to be US$432.4 billion.^[4]

Walton Family Foundation

In 1987, Sam Walton endowed a charitable foundation. The Walton Family Foundation primarily focused on charter schools, but it later extended its program to include environmental issues, particularly water-related.^[9]

In 2016, Alice and Jim Walton put a $250 million grant towards building charter school facilities. The Walton Family Foundation created the Building Equity Initiative to provide charter schools with access to capital to create and expand their facilities.^[10] This initiative was established after the foundation announced in 2016 that it would spend $1 billion over the next five years to expand "educational opportunity" by partnering with charter school operators, researchers, and education reformers.^[11]

Walton family fortune

In September 2024, Alice Walton had a net worth of $88.9 billion, making her the 18th-richest person and the richest woman in the world.^[12]

The Walton family fortune is broken down as such, as of February 2025:

• Jim Walton, $117.7 billion^[13]
• S. Robson Walton, $119 billion^[14]
• Alice Walton, $109.8 billion^[15]
• Lukas Walton, $40.9 billion^[16]
• Christy Walton, $19.9 billion^[17]
• Nancy Walton Laurie, $16.1 billion^[18]
• Ann Walton Kroenke, $13.4 billion^[19]

Family tree

v t e Walton family tree
Samuel Robson (Rob) Walton (b. 1944) three children Carolyn Funk (divorced) John Thomas Walton (8 October 1946–27 June 2005) Lukas Walton (b. September 19, 1986) Samuel Moore (Sam) Walton (29 March 1918–6 April 1992) Christy Walton Helen Robson Kemper (3 December 1919–19 April 2007) Alice Louise Walton (b. October 7, 1949) unknown (divorced) James Carr (Jim) Walton (b. 1948) four children Lynne McNabb Ann Walton Kroenke (b. 1949) Josh Kroenke James Lawrence ("Bud") Walton (20 December 1921–21 March 1995) Whitney Ann Kroenke Audrey Walton E. Stanley Kroenke Nancy Walton Laurie (b. 1952) Elizabeth Paige Laurie Bill Laurie
Notes:

Their immediate family includes Jim, Christy, and Lukas Walton.

Notes

1. ^[1][2][3]

References

1. Hanbury, Mary (August 16, 2018). "MEET THE WALTONS: How America's wealthiest family spends its Walmart fortune". Business Insider. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
2. Bryan Rich. "Christy Walton & family". Forbes. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
3. Jerin Mathew (July 2, 2015). "Walton family are richest in the US with $254bn net worth – Forbes". International Business Times UK. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
4. Pendleton, Devon (December 12, 2024). "World's Richest Families 2024". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
5. Berger, Chloe (December 12, 2024). "The Walton family is the world's richest as soaring Walmart shares drive the heirs' net worth to $432 billion". Fortune. Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
6. Serwer, Andy (November 15, 2004). "THE WALTONS/ INSIDE AMERICA'S RICHEST FAMILY". CNN Money. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
7. "Wal-Mart says Walton family to sell shares to keep lid on stake". Reuters. April 11, 2015.
8. Souza, Kim (August 23, 2018). "Walton family reduces stock". Retrieved September 30, 2019.
9. "Inside the Walton Family Foundation's "Unprecedented" Giving for the Colorado River". Inside Philanthropy. May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
10. Sullivan, Maureen. "Why Is The Walton Family Foundation Putting Another $250 Million Into Charter Schools?". Forbes. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
11. Sullivan, Maureen. "Walton Family Foundation Aims To Bolster Charter Schools With $1 Billion In Grants". Forbes. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
12. "Alice Walton". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
13. "Jim Walton". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
14. "S. Rob Walton". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
15. "Alice Walton". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
16. "Lukas Walton". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
17. "Christy Walton". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
18. "Nancy Walton Laurie". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
19. "Ann Walton Kroenke". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2024.