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Bloomberg
The Walton family fortune tumbled almost $19 billion after Walmart Inc slashed its profit outlook.
Walmart, controlled by the family, fell 11% in New York trading after the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company reported earnings that lagged analysts’ estimates. Soaring inflation heaped pressure on the retailing giant’s profit margins in the first quarter, testing the company’s appetite to raise prices.
The family’s late patriarch, Sam Walton, centered the business around a discount ethos that has in the past helped buoy its stock during recessionary times. Walton’s three surviving children, Alice, Jim and Rob, daughter-in-law Christy and Christy’s son, Lukas, own just under half the retailer, giving them a combined net worth of about $212 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The family has stepped up its stock sales in recent years. They unloaded $6.2 billion in shares last year, which the company has said is part of a strategy to keep the family’s stake under 50% amid buybacks.