James Carr Walton (born 1948) is an American businessman, currently the heir to an American company that operates the world’s largest wholesale and retail chain, Walmart. According to the position for 2021, it is included in the TOP-10 of the richest people in the world, with a capital of $ 68.2 billion.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Jim Walton, which we will talk about in this article.
So, here is a short biography of James Carr Walton.
Jim Walton biography
Jim Walton was born on June 7, 1948, in the US state of Arkansas. He grew up in the family of Walmart founder Sam Walton and his wife, Helen. In addition to Jim, the couple had 2 more sons – Rob and John, and a daughter Alice.
The billionaire attended an elite school in Bentonville, where he graduated in 1965. He enjoyed authority with his classmates, so he became the president of the class. At the same time, the young man was fond of American football, as a result of which he participated in city competitions.
At the same time, Walton began to show a keen interest in aviation. This led to him obtaining a pilot’s license. At the age of 23, he graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a BA in Business Administration. In his student years, the guy was in the male fraternity “LambdaChi Alpha”.
Career
After graduating from high school, Jim began working in his father’s company, in the department dealing with real estate transactions. It is important to note that he was originally a simple clerk at the Bank of Pea Ridge and only later began to get involved in Walmart affairs.
Walton Sr. believed that all close relatives should be involved in the family business. An interesting fact is that now any representative of the 2nd generation of the Waltons owns billions of dollars in assets and is part of the corporation.
After about 4 years as a clerk, Jim Walton took over as President of Walton Enterprises, which was part of the family business. In mid-2005, his older brother John died in a plane crash.
As a result, in the fall of the same year, Jim Walton joined the Board of Directors of Walmart, replacing his late brother. He was entrusted with managing the finance department and the strategic planning committee of the corporation. In the summer of 2016, the man decided to transfer his powers to his son Stuart.
At the same time, Walton took over as CEO of Arvest Bank, which also belonged to his family. He is also the owner of a large printing company, Community Publishers Inc, which unites about 20 newspapers and several reputable Internet portals.
The family-holding “Walton Enterprises” owns about 51% of the shares of the corporation “Walmart”. It is run by Jim, Rob, and Alice Walton. Owning large shares and assets, Jim, along with his brother and sister, own tens of billions of dollars, continuing to successfully develop the family business.
Charity
The Walton family founded a charitable foundation that provides financial support to private schools. Over the past 30 years, the fund has allocated up to $ 1.3 billion for approximately 6,700 educational institutions. Also, family members donate large sums to improve the ecological state in different regions of the state.
The Waltons donate hundreds of millions of dollars to programs that help people improve their lives and succeed in business. In the period 2008-2014. Jim Walton’s charitable foundation has exceeded $ 2 billion!
Jim Walton today
The billionaire does not like public life, and as a result of which he prefers to remain in the shadows and limit communication with journalists. He devotes a lot of time and energy to work, trying to fulfill all the behests of his late father. Curiously, Jim is not prone to waste.
Walton does not own luxury cars, but he provides solid financial support for various political projects. Many members of the American elite accuse Jim of sponsoring extreme right-wing political movements.
The oligarch has a reputation for being disinterested in the empowerment of LGBT communities in Arkansas. He had a hand in ensuring that the state did not pass the same-sex marriage law. In the 2010 Wisconsin elections, he sponsored Republican candidates to cut subsidies to public schools and raise funds for private education.
