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  1. Business
  2. Retail

The Walmart Heirs Just Made $12.7 Billion in One Day

By:
Rob Wile
3 min read
Jim Walton, chairman and chief executive officer of Arvest Bank Group Inc., from left, Alice Walton, and Rob Walton, chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. - Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Jim Walton, chairman and chief executive officer of Arvest Bank Group Inc., from left, Alice Walton, and Rob Walton, chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images

If you have Walton in your name, there's a decent chance you saw your fortunes rise yesterday.

America's richest Waltons — Alice, Rob, Jim, and Lukas — certainly did: Together, the principal heirs to the Walmart fortune saw their net worth increase by a combined $12.7 billion, according to Bloomberg, after the company reported strong earnings, sending shares soaring.

In the process, Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, became the world's richest woman again, with a new net worth of $45.9 billion, according to Bloomberg.

She is now the 17th-wealthiest person in the world. Her brothers Jim and Rob were the world's 13th and 16th wealthiest individuals as of this morning, according to Bloomberg. And her nephew Lukas, 31, remains the third-wealthiest 30-something in the world (trailing only Facebook cofounders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz).

Bloomberg credits the Walton heirs with equal shares of the two family trusts that hold about 50 percent of the company, and which constitutes the bulk of their fortune, a Bloomberg rep told Money in an email. The difference in net worths between Rob, Alice and Jim comes from Bloomberg's analysis of the (much smaller) shares they hold directly. Rob and Jim also own stakes in Arvest Bank Group, a company in which Alice isn't disclosed as an owner. Bloomberg also deducts the cost of individual charitable giving, like Alice's extensive support for Crystal Bridges.

Other Waltons seeing gains Thursday were Christy Walton, Lukas' mother and widow of Sam Walton's second-oldest son John, who earned $621 million; and Nancy Walton Laurie, the daughter of Sam Walton's brother Bud.

Walmart shares surged 11 percent Thursday, closing at a new all-time high, driven by reported e-commerce sales growth of 50 percent.

"Walmart's online performance continues to validate its substantial investments in this critical channel, including its purchase of Jet.com," Moody's lead retail analyst Charlie O'Shea said in a note.

Walmart saw overall revenues climb to $123.18 billion in the third quarter, beating Wall Street expectations.

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