Lukas Walton Explained
Lukas Tyler Walton (born September 19, 1986) is an American billionaire heir. He is the grandson of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.
Early life and career
Lukas Walton is the only child of John T. Walton (1946–2005) and his wife Christy Walton. He grew up in National City, California, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.[1] His father, John T. Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005. Following his father's death, he moved with his mother to Jackson, Wyoming.[2]
When he was three years old, Walton was diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer, and his mother attributed his recovery to a plant-based remedy from her garden.[3]
He has a bachelor's degree in environmentally sustainable business from Colorado College, where he graduated in 2010.[4]
He went on to work at True North Venture Partners.[5]
Philanthropy
He is the environment program committee chair for the Walton Family Foundation.[2]
Politics
In 2020, Walton gave $5,600 to the Biden campaign and $142,000 to the Democratic National Committee.[6]
Personal life
Walton lives in Jackson, Wyoming[7] and Chicago.[8] He is married to Samantha Walton,[9] [10] [11] who is listed as the co-president with Lukas Walton in the Builders Initiative, which is a Walton family foundation.[12]
In 2022, Walton was ranked 106th in the Forbes annual list of the world's billionaires with a net worth of $16.5 billion.[13] In 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth at $28 billion, ranking him as the 60th-richest person in the world as well as the richest person in the state of Illinois,[14] which he had previously been in 2020 and 2023.[15]
Notes and References
- News: Levitz. Eric. Meet the 29-Year-Old Who Was, Until Today, a Secret Megabillionaire. November 7, 2015. NYmag. November 6, 2015. June 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180617112359/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/lukas-walton-outed-as-megabillionaire.html. live.
- News: Meet Lukas Walton, the fiercely private heir to the Walmart empire who has donated millions from his fortune to find solutions to environmental problems . February 20, 2020 . Business Insider . November 10, 2020 . November 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201110152203/https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-lukas-walton-heir-to-walmart-empire?r=US&IR=T . live .
- Web site: Meet Lukas Walton, the fiercely private heir to the Walmart empire who has donated millions from his fortune to find solutions to environmental problems. Kimball. Ryder. Business Insider. May 13, 2020. February 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200229160330/https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-lukas-walton-heir-to-walmart-empire. live.
- News: A Wal-Mart Heir Is $27 Billion Poorer Than Everyone Thought. De Jong. David. November 6, 2015. Bloomberg L.P.. November 7, 2015. March 5, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190305061040/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-06/a-wal-mart-heir-is-27-billion-poorer-than-everyone-calculated. live.
- News: Meet the 29-Year-Old Who Was, Until Today, a Secret Megabillionaire . November 6, 2015 . New York Magazine . November 10, 2020 . June 17, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180617112359/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/lukas-walton-outed-as-megabillionaire.html . live .
- News: Data shows some Walton giving leans to left . October 18, 2020 . Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette . November 10, 2020 . November 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201116115115/https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2020/oct/18/data-shows-some-walton-giving-leans-to-left/ . live .
- Web site: Lukas Walton . . February 16, 2019 . April 21, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190421195332/https://www.forbes.com/profile/lukas-walton/ . live .
- News: Turns out the richest Illinoisan is not Ken Griffin. Strahler. Steven R. September 11, 2020. Crain's Chicago Business. September 12, 2020. October 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201017213556/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/nonprofits-philanthropy/turns-out-richest-illinoisan-not-ken-griffin. live.
- Web site: Find out why philanthropist Lukas Walton is a #Crains40Under40. November 5, 2020. Crain's Chicago Business. March 19, 2021. March 7, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210307081527/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/40-under-40/40s-2020-lukas-walton. live.
- Web site: Turns out the richest Illinoisan is not Ken Griffin. September 11, 2020. Crain's Chicago Business. September 12, 2020. October 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201017213556/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/nonprofits-philanthropy/turns-out-richest-illinoisan-not-ken-griffin. live.
- Web site: Return of private foundation. foundationcenter.org. 8 September 2023. April 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210415014315/http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990pf_pdf_archive/133/133441466/133441466_201512_990PF.pdf. live.
- Web site: Return of private foundation. foundationcenter.org. 8 September 2023. June 10, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210610150931/http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990pf_pdf_archive/821/821503941/821503941_201812_990PF.pdf. live.
- Web site: Forbes World's Billionaires List: The Richest in 2022. November 26, 2024. Forbes. English. May 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220501001848/https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/. dead.
- Web site: Grosser . Annika . The Richest Billionaire In Every State 2024 . . May 23, 2024 . November 26, 2024.
- News: These are the richest people in Illinois, according to Forbes . November 26, 2024 . . October 5, 2023.
