Sam Walton
Sam Walton
Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's largest corporation by revenue as well as the biggest private employer in the world. For a period of time, Walton was the richest person in the United States. His family has remained the richest family in the U.S. for several consecutive years, with a net worth of around $440.62 billion US as of January 2026. In 1992 at the age of 74, Walton died of blood cancer and was buried at the Bentonville Cemetery in his longtime home of Bentonville, Arkansas.
Early life
Samuel Moore Walton was born to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He lived there with his parents on their farm until they moved in 1923. However, farming did not provide enough money to raise a family, and Thomas Walton went into farm mortgaging. He worked for his brother's Walton Mortgage Company, which was an agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance, where he foreclosed on farms during the Great Depression.
Early life
He and his family (now with another son, James, born in 1921) moved from Oklahoma. They moved from one small town to another for several years, mostly in Missouri. While attending eighth grade in Shelbina, Missouri, Sam became the youngest Eagle Scout) in the state's history. In adult life, Walton became a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
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