Rob Walton and his family are ranked No. 11 on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list with a net worth of $146 billion. The eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, he was chairman of the company from 1992 to 2015.
Samuel Robson “Rob” Walton was born on October 27, 1944, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the oldest of four children of Walmart co-founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton. His siblings are Jim, Alice and John, who died in 2005.
Net Worth and Rank
- Forbes 2026 list: No. 11, with $146 billion, listed as “Rob Walton & family”
- Source of wealth: his family’s holdings in Walmart, the world’s largest retailer
Education and Early Career
Walton attended The College of Wooster and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1966 with a business administration degree. He earned a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1969 and joined the Tulsa law firm Conner & Winters, which represented Walmart.
Walmart Chairman
- 1978: he left law to join Walmart as a senior vice president
- 1982: appointed vice chairman
- April 7, 1992: named chairman, two days after his father’s death; he held the post until 2015
- Succession: his son-in-law Greg Penner later became Walmart’s chairman
Sports and Giving
- Denver Broncos: on June 7, 2022, an ownership group led by Walton agreed to buy the NFL team from the estate of Pat Bowlen for $4.65 billion, a record price for a sports franchise at the time
- Walton Family Foundation: with his siblings he pledged about $2 billion to it between 2008 and 2013
Politics
Walton spent more than $17.6 million supporting Republican candidates in the 2024 US elections, according to Wikipedia.
Why It Matters
Walmart’s share price drives the Walton family fortune, and the three Walton siblings who remain are among the richest people in the world.
Net worth figures change daily with share prices. Rankings here follow the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with wealth measured on March 1, 2026.
Image: Rob Walton speaking at Walmart’s shareholders meeting in June 2011. Photo: Walmart Corporate / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
