Alice Walton, 75-year-old heiress of Walmart, has been included in the position of the world’s richest woman in the Forbes Billionaire List 2025, pushing out French L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who led the list for last year. Walton, valued at $102 billion, becomes the leader on the list of 406 billionaires who are women and most of whom inherited the fortunes, reported Forbes.
Who is Alice Walton?
Alice Walton was born on October 7, 1949, in Newport, Arkansas. She is the daughter of Walmart’s founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton. Alice graduated in 1966 from Bentonville High School and went on to graduate from Trinity University in Texas with a BA in economics.
Walton wed a Louisiana investment banker when she was 24, but the marriage failed after two-and-a-half years. She later wed a contractor, but their union also dissolved in divorce. In spite of her family’s retail empire, she took a different route, serving as an equity analyst, money manager, and investment banker before heading Arvest Bank Group’s investment operations.
In 1988, she created Llama Company, an investment bank in which she was president, chair, and CEO, before it closed a decade later. Walton was a key developer of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, donating $15 million personally and raising $79.5 million in bonds. As a testament to her dedication, the airport’s primary terminal is named the “Alice L. Walton Terminal Building.”
A Passion for Art and Philanthropy
Unlike her brothers, Walton never had an active role in Walmart operations, but rather concentrated on investments and art collecting. At the age of 10, she bought her first painting, a reproduction of Picasso, for $2. In 2011, she founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, spending $50 million to display her art collection, now worth more than $500 million.
Politically, Walton has been a supporter of Republican and Democratic causes. Although she once contributed to Republican candidates and PACs, in 2016, she gave $353,400 to the Hillary Victory Fund, a Democratic fundraising committee.
Walton remains committed to philanthropy, investments, and art, defining her legacy outside of the Walmart empire.
