Sam, the original man behind the company that now encompasses both Walmart and Sam’s Club, set his family up for financial success when he divided the ownership before he died. He wasn’t a man of flashy luxury, but you can see how his children are living a slightly more lavish life now.

Here’s a look at how the Walton family members make and spend their billions:

1. Sam Walton

Sam opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. He married Helen Robson on Valentine’s Day in 1942. Together, they had four children: Rob, John, Jim and Alice.

By the time Sam died at the age of 74 of cancer in 1992, he had set up the company ownership in a way that minimised the estate taxes anyone on the receiving end would have to pay.

He set up his ownership of Walmart’s stock in a family partnership – each of his children held 20 per cent of Walton Enterprises, while he and Helen each held 10 per cent. Helen inherited Sam’s 10 per cent tax-free when he died. The stocks were carefully divided among the family.

2. Samuel Robson “Rob” Walton

Rob is the oldest Walton child. He is 79 years old and served as chairman of Walmart from 1992 until 2015 and remained on the board after, but he’s stepping down from the board at the end of his current term in 2024.

Rob bought a house in Paradise Valley, Arizona, near the base of Camelback Mountain. In the past, protesters have rallied outside his Arizona home to advocate for better wages and benefits for Walmart workers.

Besides property, Rob has a large collection of vintage cars. In 2013, he ran his Daytona Coupe, which was worth US$15 million at the time, off the tracks and wrecked it. The car was one of only five ever made.

3. John Walton

Sam’s second-oldest child, John Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005. He was 58 years old at the time. He was married to Christy Walton and had one son, Lukas. John left about 17 per cent of his wealth to his wife and he gave the rest to charity and to his son.

John served in Vietnam as a Green Beret. When he returned from the war, he held a series of jobs like the Walmart company pilot, a crop duster and the owner a few yachting companies before becoming a Walmart board member.

In 2013, Christy decided to sell their Jackson Hole mansion. She also sold the family’s ranch for an undisclosed price in 2016 after listing it for US$100 million in 2011. The family had a mansion in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

4. James “Jim” Walton

Jim is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam. He is also chairman of the board of the family’s Arvest Bank Group. One of the state’s largest banks today, Arvest Bank has assets totalling more than US$27 billion.

He also served on the Walmart board for more than a decade, starting in 2005 to fill the vacancy after his brother John died. Jim’s son, Steuart, took over his father’s seat on the board in 2016. Now, he presides over Walton Enterprises – the private company that deals with the investments and finances of the Walton family only – from modest offices in Bentonville, Arkansas.

5. Alice Walton

The youngest of founder Sam’s children, Alice Walton is worth US$78.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. Alice has never taken an active role in running the family business. Instead, she became a patron of the arts, which she fell in love with at a young age.

Alice has spent millions building her art collection. When she was 10, she bought her first work of art: a reproduction of Picasso’s Blue Nude for about US$2, she told The New Yorker. Today, she has an immense private art collection, with original works from Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe. Alice opened a museum in Bentonville called Crystal Bridges in 2011 to house her US$500 million private art collection.

The collection includes a Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting Jimson Weed/White Flower No 1 (1932) that Alice spent US$44.4 million on at a Sotheby’s auction in 2014 – the biggest sale for a woman’s piece of art in history.

Her Texas property, Rocking W Ranch, was sold to the Three Amigos Investment Group of Kermit, Texas, in September 2017 for an undisclosed amount. Her other 1,790-hectare Texas ranch was previously listed at a reduced price of US$22 million. The modest, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home overlooks the Brazos River.

Alice also bought a two-floor condo on New York’s Park Avenue for US$25 million in 2014. It has more than 52 large windows overlooking Central Park plus a media room, a winding staircase and more than 6,000 total sq ft of space.

In January 2016, Alice donated 3.7 million of her Walmart shares, worth about US$225 million at the time, to the family’s non-profit, the Walton Family Foundation.

The Walton Family Foundation

Sam and Helen started the foundation as a way to teach their children how to give back and how to work together. The Walton Family Foundation was established in 1987, when Walmart celebrated its 25th anniversary. The charity awards millions of dollars in grants to causes that align with the foundation’s values.

According to its website, the foundation awarded US$566.5 million in grants in 2022. The foundation has three main areas of focus: education, environmental protection and a commitment to Arkansas.

The foundation’s focus on supporting children’s education was led by John. His brother Jim said John was really interested in being able to give parents choices when it came to their child’s schooling. Meanwhile, Rob spearheaded the foundation’s venture into environmental protection. One of the first grants they gave helped develop a sustainable fisheries label.

A commitment to the family’s home of Arkansas is another large part of the foundation. The website says this area of focus is about “advancing our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta”.

Walmart Inc., which owns Walmart and Sam’s Club, is the largest retailer in the US in terms of revenue. In financial year 2023, Walmart reported US$648.1 billion in revenue. When Walmart has a good quarter, the Waltons make hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends.

Even though the Walton family is raking in billions as a result of the company’s success, they remain relatively under-the-radar in terms of flashing their wealth – much like their patriarch, Sam, did in the early years.