As of 2020, Jim Walton was worth over sixty billion dollars, but is that a self-made fortune?
It is thought that Jim Walton is not self-made. He’s an heir to the eye-watering Walmart fortune. As of 2020, Walmart as a whole was worth an incredible seventy-seven billion dollars, making around one hundred million dollars a day.
Read on to learn more about Jim Walton and his immense fortune.
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When Jim Walton was just two years of age, his father opened a general store in Bentonville, Arkansas. This store was named Walton’s 5&10 and would be the foundation of Walmart as it’s known today.
Sam Walton endeavored to provide the people of the United States with genuine goods at low prices. That was his mission in life, and he was determined to see it through. When he opened the first-ever Walmart store in 1962, it was the start of a lengthy journey to incredible success.
At the time, Jim Walton was only fourteen years old. However, it wouldn’t be long before the Walton family as a whole started reeling in the wealth from their fledgling store empire. It took just seven years for the company to settle deep roots, with twenty-four stores opening up across a wide region.
For the Walton family, the triumph was never far away. They entered the stock market with a fantastic value and high-rating. They’d opened over fifty stores by the early seventies, and were well on their way to national domination.
The growth was eye-wateringly fast and exponential. In 1980, Walmart reached one billion dollars in annual sales, a staggering amount at the time. They now had almost three hundred stores, and one of the country’s largest employee bases.
Walmart’s success was almost immeasurable. They advanced internationally, acquiring assets in Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom. At the turn of the millennium, Walmart had a roster of over one million employees and was turning over one hundred billion dollars a year.
At the heart of this was the heirs to the fortune. In 1992, Sam Walton passed away, leaving the running of the Walmart empire to his four children: Jim, Rob, John, and Alice. These four siblings would become the figureheads for one of the richest corporations on the planet.
Enter, Jim
Jim Walton is one of the most recognizable members of the family, being the youngest son of Sam Walton. As of 2020, he was the eighth richest man in the world, with a net worth of over sixty billion dollars. He was also the richest of all the Waltons.
His sister Alice boasted her own accolade: her fortune made her the richest woman in the world. The Waltons were certainly cemented as a power family over decades of hard work and massive financial gain.
However, Jim didn’t sit back in the lap of luxury his whole life. He was determined to make something of himself, and not just live off his father’s riches forever. Although he wasn’t self-made and was born into money, he has worked hard himself.
He’s served as an active member of Walmart’s board of directors for several years, working to further the company. He also served as CEO of a family-owned banking company, called Arvest Bank. Further, he’s served as chairman of a newspaper organization.
When he was younger, he pursued an academic lifestyle. As a high school student, Jim served as class president and was an accomplished sportsman. He participated in football, playing at an all-state level. Later, he graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Business Administration.
Walton remained a staunch advocate for good education many years later. In 2013, a video was published showing Jim Walton talking about ‘Educational Excellence’ in Arkansas. You can see this video below.
He’s also worked to give back to the community that made his family what they are today. Through their ‘Walmart Foundation’, the Walton family has pledged over two billion dollars to those that are disadvantaged.
In 2019, Jim Walton donated over one billion dollars’ worth of Walmart stock – to an unknown recipient. However, some of the causes the family has supported over the years include education and the environment. Their foundation has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in grants over the years.
The Waltons’ success is undoubtedly and crystal clear, but it hasn’t stopped them from giving back to the world. As they climb exponentially, it will be interesting to see where the company stands in another sixty years.