The rich get richer in two ways. One way is the way Elon Musk and Warren Buffett did. They earned it themselves. The other way is inheritance (it’s based on luck). The richest family on the lucky list is the Waltons. They have climbed onto the rich train because their father, Sam Walton, started the second-largest company in the US. It’s Walmart (NYSE: WMT | WMT Price Prediction). He started it in 1962 and died in 1992. The best way to look at him is as one of the greatest founders and CEOs in history. He bested the two largest retail incumbents. These were Sears and J.C.Penney. Each of those companies is virtually gone now.
The richest member of the family is Jim Walton, the world’s 9th-richest person, with a net worth of $157 billion. That figure is up to $21 billion this year. His brother, Rob Walton, is the 11th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $154 billion, up $20 billion. Their sister, Alice, has a net worth of $153 billion, up $20 billion, making her the 11th-richest person in the world.
Individually, each is worth more than Warren Buffett ($145 billion) and Bill Gates ($102 billion). Together, the Waltons are worth $462 billion, which would put them in second place on the Bloomberg Billionaire list behind only Elon Musk (696 billion)
The Walton family’s wealth is based almost exclusively on Walmart’s stock price. The stock is up 18% this year compared 8% for the S&P 500
Walmart has a market cap of $1.05 trillion. That makes it the 12th-most-valuable company in the world, just behind Samsung.
The Walton family owns 45% of Walmart. It has no role in management. Steuart Walton, one of Sam Walton’s grandchildren, is on the board.
The Walton family wisely chose professional management to run the company. The latest example is the current CEO, John Furner. He started as an associate in 1993.
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