Jim Walton

For other people named Jim Walton, see Jim Walton (disambiguation).
Jim Walton
Walton in 2011
Born
James Carr Walton

(1948-06-07) June 7, 1948 (age 76)[1]
Newport, Arkansas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Arkansas (BS)
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • stock trader
Political partyIndependent
Board member of
SpouseLynne McNabb
Children4[3]
Parents
Relatives
FamilyWalton

James Carr Walton[1] (born June 7, 1948)[4] is an American businessman, currently an heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer.[5] As of December 2024, Walton was the 14th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$109.5 billion according to Forbes.[6] He is the youngest son of Sam Walton.

Early life and family

Jim Walton was born in Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, the third child of Walmart co-founder Sam Walton (1918–1992) and Helen Walton (1919–2007), with siblings Rob Walton, Alice Walton, and John Walton (1946 – 2005).[3][7][8] Walton graduated from Bentonville High School in 1965, where he was president of his junior class, played football at all-state level and also learned to fly a plane. Walton received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1971, where he was also a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.[2][3][9] In 1972, he joined Walmart and was involved in its real-estate dealings. After four years, he moved to the family owned Walton Enterprises as president in 1975.[2][4]: 69–76 [10][11]

Career

On September 28, 2005, Walton replaced his deceased brother, John, on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors.[2] He was CEO of his family owned Arvest Bank, until becoming Chairman of Arvest Bank, and chairman of newspaper firm Community Publishers Inc. (CPI) owned by Jim Walton himself (but founded by his father Sam Walton after acquiring the local newspaper the Benton County Daily Record, both operating in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma[10][12]). He has pledged about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation along with his siblings from 2008 to 2013.[3][13]

In September 2016, Walton was reported to own over 152 million of Walmart shares worth over $11 billion (US).[14]

Personal life

He and his wife, Lynne McNabb Walton, have four children: Alice A. "Annie" Proietti (born November 1979),[15][16] Steuart Walton (born April 1981), Thomas Layton "Tom" Walton (born September 1983), and James M. Walton (born August 1987). The family resides in Bentonville, Arkansas.[9]

In 2014, he was ranked at #10 on the Forbes list of billionaires with a net worth of $34.7 billion that has increased by $3 billion.[7] On the 2013 Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America he is ranked at #7.[17] As of March 2019, he was ranked as the 16th-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $45.7 billion.[18] As of September 28, 2024, Jim Walton was ranked at #17 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $102 billion[19] with a $ YTD change of +$29.8B.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Sam Walton: Great From the Start". Harvard Business School. 2001-07-23. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Executive Profile: Jim C. Walton". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jim Walton". Forbes. September 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  4. ^ a b Ortega, Bob (1999). In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and how Wal-Mart is Devouring the World. Kogan Page Publishers. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7494-3177-8.
  5. ^ "Walmart's surge just added $12 billion to the Walton family's wealth". nordic.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  6. ^ "Jim Walton & family". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  7. ^ a b "2014 Forbes Billionaires". Forbes. 2014. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
  8. ^ "The World's Billionaires #26 Jim Walton". Forbes. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  9. ^ a b "Jim C. Walton". walmart1percent. Archived from the original on 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  10. ^ a b Serwer, Andy (2004-11-15). "THE WALTONS/ INSIDE AMERICA'S RICHEST FAMILY". CNNMoney.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  11. ^ Buehler, Nathan (2016-06-04). "The Top 4 Walmart Shareholders". Investopedia. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  12. ^ "Jim C. Walton Chairman and CEO of Arvest Bank Group, Inc". Walmart. 2008-03-05. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  13. ^ Mark A. Joyce (October 23, 2015). "Guest columnist recounts out-of-state money and PAC support going to campaigns of certain BESE candidates". Louisiana Voice. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  14. ^ "Insidermole.com". Insidermole.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  15. ^ "WEDDINGS : Walton, Proietti wedding | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette". 18 October 2009.
  16. ^ "Who was Bitwise Industries' surprise whale? The family behind Walmart". 15 June 2023.
  17. ^ "The Forbes 400 The Richest People in America". Forbes. September 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  18. ^ "Jim Walton". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  19. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.