In 1962, Sam Walton opened up his store in Rogers, Arkansas, called Walmart. By 1967, he expanded to 24 stores and before the end of the decade founded Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The retail chain continued to grow and became many Americans’ go-to-shop. The company went even further in dominating retail by adding a supermarket within the store, which it called a Supercenter. In addition to adding the discount store Sam’s Club, Walmart Inc. expanded internationally to Mexico and later China, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
In 1992, Sam Walton died at the age of 74, The New York Times reported. At this time, the Waltons were the richest family in America thanks mostly to an estimated $23 billion in Walmart stock. Sam’s net worth was estimated to be $8.6 billion when he died, which meant his family’s bank accounts significantly grew. Jim, the third and youngest son of Sam, was the wealthiest in the family as of 2022, worth an estimated $61.6 billion, per Bloomberg. His brother Rob Walton was not far behind with a net worth of $61.2 billion and their sister, Alice Walton, was reportedly worth $59.7 billion. This all thanks to Walmart’s astounding market capitalization — the total stock worth — of $417.2 billion at the start of 2021, according toInvestopedia. Even though the three siblings have incredible worth, the family is not immune to tragedy: John Walton, one of Sam’s sons, died in a plane crash in 2005, NBC reported.