MEET THE WALTONS: How America's wealthiest family spends its Walmart fortune

Mary Hanbury

  • The Walton family is the richest family in America.

  • Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962. It is now the world's largest retailer by revenue with sales of $500 billion from its nearly 12,000 stores worldwide.

  • Walton's descendants have a combined wealth of $151.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. This is more than Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett, and $52.8 billion more than the second-richest family in the United States, the Kochs.

  • In public, the Waltons live a pretty modest life despite their wealth. Here's how they spend their fortune.

The Waltons are the richest family in America, but they're pretty discreet about it.

According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, the Walmartheirs have a combined wealth of $151.5 billion, which is more than Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett. In fact, they are worth $52.8 billion more than the second-richest family in the United States, the Kochs.

The three children of Walmart founder Sam Walton co-own Walton Enterprises, which is the biggest shareholder of the company and the reason behind their wealth. Walmart is the world's largest retailer by revenue with sales of $500 billion from its nearly 12,000 stores around the world.

Only one of the siblings, Rob Walton, sits on the board of the company. James Walton, his brother, served on the board until 2016, before being replaced by his son Steuart in 2016.

Alice Walton, the youngest sibling, has never taken an active role running the business and has instead become a patron of the arts.

When the company has a good quarter, the family makes millions of dollars in dividends. However, despite their fortune, the Waltons seem to live a pretty modest life, at least in public.

Here's what we do know about how the wealthy family spends its fortune:

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