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Walmart heir Rob Walton has just resigned from the retailer’s board after four decades.
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He and his two siblings have increased their net worth by over $100 billion in recent years.
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Their gains were fueled by Walmart shares, which hit a record in March.
Walmart heir Rob Walton just stepped down from the retailer’s board after four decades. He and his two siblings have more than doubled their wealth since 2016, increasing their combined fortune by more than $100 billion.
The three surviving children of legendary company founder Sam Walton – Rob, Jim and Alice – are all high on Forbes’ list of the richest people, with personal fortunes between $72 billion and $79 billion. In 2016, they were less than half as wealthy.
Together they now have a fortune of $228 billion. As a trio they are richer than the top three people on the list: Bernard Arnault ($214 billion), Jeff Bezos ($195 billion) or Elon Musk ($192 billion).
Her wealth has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to Walmart stock, which rose from under $20 in 2016 to over $60.
It has already risen 14% this year, driven by robust consumer demand and investor hopes that lower interest rates will help the economy emerge from recession.
The Walton trio has earned a total of more than $45 billion over the years from stock sales and dividends, according to Bloomberg. Together with other relatives, they own more than 1.25 billion shares, or more than 45% of the company – a stake worth more than $220 billion.
The Waltons’ combined fortune was estimated at $267 billion in mid-January, according to a Forbes ranking of America’s richest families, making them more than twice as wealthy as the Mars dynasty.
It is notable that Walmart’s founding family owns such a large stake in a publicly traded company valued at nearly $500 billion and has multiple board members.
Many super-rich families prefer to keep their companies private. This is the case with Mars, Koch Industries, Cargill, Fidelity, Publix, Chick-fil-A and others.
Read the original article on Business Insider
