Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949, in Newport, Arkansas) is the youngest daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton, and the heiress to the Walmart fortune. With an estimated net worth of $116 billion as of July 2025, she is one of the wealthiest individuals in the U.S., the richest woman in the world, and the 15th richest person overall according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. She earned a B.A. in economics from Trinity University in 1971, briefly worked as a buyer at Walmart, then transitioned to finance as an equity analyst and money manager for First Commerce Corporation and later headed investment activities at Arvest Bank Group. Walton is a prominent art collector and philanthropist: she founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2011 (serving as its chairwoman) and established the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville in 2021. Politically, she is active in Republican causes, especially in Arkansas, and is a major donor to figures like Senator Tom Cotton. Her personal interests include equestrian activities—she has raised and trained competitive horses since her teens—and art collecting, which began at age 11 with a Picasso print. Despite her low public profile, she has faced past legal scrutiny, including a 1989 car accident involving DWI and hit-and-run charges (later dropped) and a 1984 firearm incident.