The Walton family's cash accounts are a whopping $1.5 billion larger after they sold nearly 9 million shares of Walmart stock last week, according to the SEC. filings.
In a series of three transactions, the heirs of Walmart founder Sam Walton cashed in as the company's stock price rose to record highs.
The latest sales bring the Walton family's total income to nearly $2.3 billion from Walmart stock in the span of three months, disclosures show.
When asked for comment, Walmart referred Business Insider to a 2015 report. statement of Walton Enterprises announcing a plan to sell shares “from time to time” as a way to keep family ownership below 50% of the company and fund charitable initiatives.
Walmart's stock price boom since 2016 has added more than $100 billion to the combined wealth of siblings Rob, Alice and Jim Walton, making them by far the richest family in the world.
With a combined net worth of $226.3 billion, the three Waltons are collectively richer than Tesla CEO Elon Musk's $209.8 billion. according to Forbes starting Monday.
When he joins the rest of the Walton clan, that wealth skyrockets to about $267 billion, far more than the next richest family, the candy Mars heirs.
Last week's sales still won't affect much of the Waltons' total shares, which represent about 45% of the entire company. And thanks to a three-for-one stock split on Monday, its reserves of about 1.25 billion shares are now a stock of about 3.75 billion.
In dollar terms, the Waltons' holdings remain unchanged after the split, but Walmart hopes a new stock price of around $60 will be more affordable for rank-and-file employees and other investors looking to buy shares in the company. .
Walmart employs 1.6 million workers in the United States, and more than half a million more worldwide. The average employee's annual compensation in 2023 was $27,136.
“Sam and Helen wanted all of our associates to participate in the benefits of the company,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on a company podcast last month.
“What Sam was thinking was, 'Let's keep the price in a range where it makes sense and looks affordable,'” he added. “It just feels better to buy a share than a fraction of a share.”
McMillon said more than 400,000 employees are participating in Walmart's stock purchase plan.