Alice Walton was one of four siblings born to Sam Walton – the co-founder of Walmart stores. As you can probably guess, Sam left billions of dollars to his children, with Alice being the middle child of the three remaining heirs. Alice herself is worth an estimated 46 billion USD – but with so much wealth how does she go about holding on to it all? We wanted to know where all that money comes from, so we took a closer look.
Born in Newport, Arkansas, Alice is reputedly residing in Fort Worth nowadays. At age 69 she is one of the richest women in the world and the 19th richest person overall. Together her family own over $11 billion in shares of the company and they take in around a half a trillion dollars in revenue each and every year. As well as a fairly well established inheritance Alice still has the Walmart income to live off of. In spite of this she determinedly went out and made a career all of her very own.
Alice studied Economics and Finance at Trinity College, a different course from her older brothers who both studied Business courses. Upon leaving University she worked for First Commerce Corporation where she was a money manager and analyst. She also ran investment activities for the Arvest Bank Group, which her elder brother would later take over and incorporate into the Walmart group. Alice also worked as a broker for EF Hutton, altogether proving her merits without her families influence. In 1988 she went so far as to found the Llama Company and sit as CEO where she made a fortune investment banking.
Since then Alice has headed the Northwest Arkansas Council and developed an airport through the Llama Company. She ran a ranch for a while and then moved to her current residence to focus on the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art which she founded and opened in 2011. As well as all of this she is an avid art lover, makes frequent and generous donations to political parties and has a spotted record of bad driving – Alice Walton is a woman who has lived her life to the fullest. She may not be a model citizen but she is a shining example to young women everywhere and was the only one of the three remaining Walton siblings to build a career outwith the family fortune and make billions in her own right.
Although she has not agreed to take part in the Giving Pledge – an agreement billionaires make to give away half of their fortunes – she does give vast amounts of wealth to the Walton Family Foundation. This is a charitable organization with some $3.1 billion of assets that are all designated to be distributed to the poor and needy. The Foundation operates a scholarship fund and was the driving force (along with Alice herself) behind the establishment of the aforementioned Crystal Bridges Museum. The Foundation also helps hospitals and schools, generously giving back to the people of America who have made her family rich.