| Jim Walton | |
| Birth Name: | James Carr Walton |
| Birth Date: | 7 June 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Newport, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | University of Arkansas (BS) |
| Spouse: | Lynne McNabb |
| Party: | Independent |
| Family: | Walton |
| Children: | 4 |
James Carr Walton[1] (born June 7, 1948)[2] is an American businessman, currently an heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer.[3] As of August 2024, Walton was the 15th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$92.5 billion according to Forbes. He is the youngest son of Sam Walton.
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).[4] [5] 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.[4] 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.[6] [2] [7] [8]
On September 28, 2005, Walton replaced his deceased brother, John, on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors.[6] 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[7] [9]). He has pledged about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation along with his siblings from 2008 to 2013.[4] [10]
In September 2016, Walton was reported to own over 152 million of Walmart shares worth over $11 billion (US).[11]
He and his wife, Lynne McNabb Walton, have four children: Alice A. "Annie" Proietti (born November 1979),[12] [13] 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.[14]
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.[15] On the 2013 Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America he is ranked at #7.[16] As of March 2019, he was ranked as the 16th-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $45.7 billion.[17]