Sam Walton

Founder of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Sam Walton was born on March 29, 1918. Walton was born to Thomas Gibson and Nancy Lee Walton near Kingfisher, Oklahoma. There, he lived with his parents on their farm until 1923. Sam's father, Thomas Gibson, decided farming did not generate enough income on which to raise a family, so he decided to return to his former profession, farm loan appraisal. So he and his family which now included Sam’s younger brother, James, moved from Oklahoma to Missouri. There, the family moved from one small town to another for several years. While attending 8th grade in Shelbina, Sam Walton became the youngest Eagle Scout in the state's history.

Walton excelled physically in high school, playing basketball and football. He was the starting quarterback for Columbia's Hickman High School in 1935, when they won the state title. While at Hickman High, he also served as vice president of the student body his junior year and as president his senior year. Walton’s academic performance garnered him honors. He is best known for being the founder of the giant American retailer Wal-Mart.

Over time, Walton went on to open more stores with the help of his brother, father-in-law, and brother-in-law. In 1954, he opened a store with his brother in a shopping center in Ruskin Heights, Kansas. He opened another in Arkansas, but it failed to be as successful as his other stores. Walton decided to concentrate on retail business instead of the shopping centers and opened larger stores which were called Walton's Family Center.

Walton offered managers the opportunity to become limited partners if they would invest in the store they oversaw and then invest a maximum of $1,000 in new outlets as they opened. This motivated the managers to always try to maximize profits and improve their managerial skills. By 1962, Walton and his brother Bud owned 16 variety stores in Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. The first true Wal-Mart opened in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart eventually became the world's largest retailer.

In 2004, more than 1.5 million people were employed by the Wal-Mart corporation. Walton stated, "Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community." Wal-Mart has outreach programs led by local associates who grew up in the area and understand the needs of the local community. Wal-Mart uses various strategies to become involved in local communities. These include holding bake sales for local charities and offering scholarships to graduating seniors from local high schools.

Forbes ranked Sam Walton as the richest man in the United States from 1985 to 1988. Walton ceded the top spot to John Kluge in 1989 after Forbes editors began to attribute the Walton fortune to him and his four children. The year Walton passed away, Bill Gates headed the list. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated also runs Sam's Club warehouse stores. Wal-Mart stores operate in Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, China, Germany, and Puerto Rico.

He left his ownership in Wal-Mart to his wife and their children: S. Robson "Rob" Walton, John T. Walton, Jim Walton, and Alice Walton. Rob Walton succeeded his father as the Chairman of the Board of Wal-Mart, and John was a director in the company until his death in a 2005 plane crash. The only involvement that the other siblings have in Wal-Mart is through their voting power as shareholders. Members of the Walton family held 5 spots in the top 10 richest people in the United States until 2005. Ann Kroenke and Nancy Laurie, two daughters of Sam's brother, Bud Walton, hold smaller shares in the company and are also billionaires in their own right. If he were alive today, Sam Walton would be the world's wealthiest person – estimates state that he would be twice as rich as Bill Gates. Today, some people have the following opinion about Walton: "He was a good guy, except if he was running you out of business."

Sam Walton passed away on April 5, 1992.