Samuel Robson Walton is a billionaire from the United States of America, the true son of his great father, Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, an American corporation and one of the largest retailers in the world. For some reason, for his family, the simple truth “a bad start is a key to great success!” became immutable, and Rob has always believed in it. After the death of his father in 1992, S. Robson Walton continued his business, was elected chairman of the board of directors, and headed the corporation for 23 years until he left the presidency in 2015.
In the success story of the family business, the contribution of S. Robson Walton is very significant. He became a follower of the basic and advanced ideas of his father at that time. He not only kept a huge company afloat, but he also made it even bigger and more profitable.
Over the past six years, S. Robson Walton has doubled his fortune. According to Forbes 2018, it is estimated at $ 46.2 billion, which is the 15th line in the ranking.
With $ 46 billion, Robson Walton is known as a recluse, albeit incredibly wealthy. They say that this “king of retail” never tips. He does not give interviews, journalists’ questions about the billionaire’s personal life remain unanswered with the same comment: “This is a private sphere, no comment. Better ask how our business is going. “
Even about his marriage, different sources report different things. For one, married twice, on the other – there were three marriages. It is known for certain that there are five children – three from one wife, two from another, and also that the current spouse (they got married in 2005), Melanie Walton, is thirty years younger than Robson.
Getting to know the business
The school is finished, and Rob becomes a student at the University of Arkansas, which is 1966 he is uploading a Bachelor of Science in Management. He immediately enters the Faculty of Law at Columbia University.
I must say that there was no place in Robson’s plans for a career as a merchant. Yes, he helped his father flawlessly since childhood, but his dream was to become a lawyer.
After completing his education in 1969 with a doctorate in jurisprudence, he took a job in one of the law firms, not succumbing to his father’s persuasion to return. Dreams come true. Very soon he became a successful lawyer (and many years later – the most expensive lawyer in America). Here he got married, had three children, and managed to divorce and remarry his secretary, with whom he fell desperately in love (he divorced Caroline Funk in 2000). He left everything to his ex-wife. He returned, now for good, to the city in which he spent his childhood.
Sam Walton benefited greatly from the legal knowledge and experience of his eldest son. It was then that his father began to distinguish him from all the workers. Rob worked hard, strived for the development of the company, and defended its interests.
Robson, in contrast to his father, was shining, but a quiet person. Accompanying his father on the hunt, he could exchange hunting boots for sports slippers and run along the lakes while his father and the dogs were out of sight. And during the regular rounds of family shops that were made with his father, he remained silent.
In 1978, at the insistence of Sam Walton, he was included on the board of directors, and four years after he became vice president of the company already known throughout the world.
By that time, Walmart was an impressive chain of stores, more than 230 of them, with revenues exceeding 1 billion a year.
Thanks to Robson, who works with his father and his siblings, the concept of further improvement of the network appeared, which made its owner Sam Walton the richest man in America in 1985. After the death of the great Sam Walton in April 1992, Samuel Robson Walton was named chairman of the board of directors, and the family became the owner of 50% of the company.
Wal-Mart Robson Walton
And again the “family” “bad start”. Robson’s inauguration coincided with a media scandal – some of the products sold in Wal-Mart stores are made in China in one of the prison factories. The information was not confirmed, but the anti-Woll-March protests have already rolled in waves across America.
“My father taught me that constant self-development and experimentation are the most important things in life. This is what you should always adhere to – try to master something new ”(Robson Walton).
Robson Walton was not in the least frightened. He practically did not have to change anything.
Wal-Mart’s principles of operation have remained unchanged:
- Shops and supermarkets should sell food and manufactured goods and strive for wholesale prices;
- Shops should be built not in the city center, but in residential areas;
- The buyer is the main person in the store, only he can decide whether to work the store further or he will go to another supermarket with his wallet.
