American businessman Jim Walton is currently the heir to the fortune of ‘Walmart’, which is a worldwide retail firm based in the United States that runs a chain of grocery stores, cheap department stores, and hypermarkets in 23 other countries. It is the biggest retailer in the world, founded by brothers Sam and James Walton, in the neighboring city of Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. Walmart is also well-known in Bangladesh since it is one of the largest clothing buyers in the nation.
But Jim Walton is not only known as the heir to ‘Walmart’ but also as the 14th richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$109.5 billion as of December 2024, according to Forbes. He is also the Chairman and CEO of ‘Arvest Bank’, which is a Walton family company group.
Early Life and Education
Jim Walton, full name, James Carr Walton, born on June 7,1948, to the couple Sam Walton and Helen Walton, is their 3rd child and the youngest son.
Ever since he was a child, Jim Walton showed talent in multiple sectors. He was president of his junior class and played football at the all-state level when he was in 9th grade and then graduated from Bentonville High School in 1965. Not only this, he was also gifted in Math, Languages and drawing.
Walton was also a member of the ‘Lambda Chi Alpha’ fraternity while attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing in 1971.
He had always been interested in Aviation. He was further influenced by his older brother John, who had already been a pilot at that time and enrolled in a Civil Aviation College. Hence he also holds a pilot’s license.
The starting point of his carrier: Walmart
Jim Walton began working with Walmart in 1972 and participated in its real estate transactions. Four years later, in 1975, he became president of the family-owned “Walton Enterprises”.
Walton Enterprises,a holding firm, owns a stake in Walmart, the biggest corporation in the world by revenue. The Walton family owns more than half of Walmart.
After Sam Walton passed away in 1992, Walmart’s estate was divided among his wife and his four children.
John Walton, the eldest son of Walmart’s owner , was originally appointed a director of WalMart. But in 2005, he tragically passed away in a plane crash, where he was the pilot himself. After his death, Jim was called to assume the vacant board position in place of his brother. He had been the board of director from 2005-2016, a year over a decade, until he stepped down from this position.
Arvest Bank
Jim Walton is currently chair and chief executive officer of ‘Arvest Bank Group’ , a Walton-owned regional bank that operates more than 260 banks in more than 100 communities throughout Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. He became a head of the Arvest Bank Group back in 1992. Then he rose to the ranks to Chairman.
Prior to becoming chairman of both Arvest Bank and Community Publishers Inc. (CPI), a newspaper company that Jim Walton owns but that his father Sam Walton founded after acquiring the local newspaper the Benton County Daily Record, he served as CEO of the family-owned Arvest Bank.
By acquiring the Bank of Bentonville in 1961, the Bank of Pea Ridge in 1963, and the First National Bank & Trust Company in 1975, the Walton family established Arvest. In 2013, Arvest increased its reach by acquiring 29 local Bank of America stores. With more than $20 billion in assets as of 2022, Arvest Bank Group was the biggest bank in Arkansas in terms of deposits and among the biggest in Oklahoma in terms of branches.Together with his siblings, he committed over $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation between 2008 and 2013. It was reported in September 2016 that Walton had more than 152 million Walmart shares, valued at more than $11 billion.
Overcoming difficulties in the way
Jim as a young post graduate student, held the reins of Walmart, in 1992. Although he did not do a groundbreaking investment or made a company from scratch, he handled the companies given to him by family lineage very orderly and on top of that he made them grow exponentially which also earned him the title of a Billionaire.
He faced some difficulties during his early days in the field of business. Such as – Media outlets in April 1992 reported that WalMart products were being sold “unfairly.” Information that WalMart products were produced in a Chinese prison factory was spread by the media.
But this information was never confirmed nor proven. Jim Walton did his best to restore Walmart’s reputation. His advocacy in diversification strategy gave rise to many subsidiaries. Such as, he co-founded Sam’s Wholesale Club in 1983, which is a chain of wholesale and retail warehouse stores, Massmart, Walmart neighbourhood market – a real estate agency.
Personal life and philanthropy
Jim Walton would rather have a modest profile in the public eye than many other well-known billionaires. He keeps his personal affairs out of the public glare and enjoys a quiet secluded life.
He is also actively involved in philanthropy through the Walton Family Foundation, which supports various initiatives in education, environmental conservation, and the arts.
Sam and Helen Walton’s three generations of descendants strive to enhance K–12 education, safeguard rivers, oceans, and the communities they sustain, and make investments in the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta and Northwest Arkansas. To support this purpose, the foundation granted $749.5 million in grants in 2020. Jim Walton stood down from the position of director of Walmart in 2016 and focuses on his roles at the Arvest banks and his philanthropic efforts.
Taking an overview of his whole life, we can say that Jim Walton, is a hard worker, who even without having established a business or company from the scratch, worked with what he got and took it to the peak level. His hard work and persistence is praiseworthy. He stayed true to his principles while striving for excellence. He would continue to inspire others to make a positive difference in the world.
Writer
Urbashi Barua Arna
Intern, Content Writing
Department
BYSDO
Keywords: Jim Walton, Sam Walton, Walmart, Walton , Arvest Bank, Heir
