Walmart‘s heirs, already worth billions, increased their wealth by $11.6 billion in a blockbuster morning on Thursday. After announcing its Q2 earnings crushed Wall Street expectations, the company’s stock priced surged 11 percent.
By 9:45 a.m. yesterday, the Walton family upped its net worth to a total of $163.2 billion.
Founder Sam Walton’s heirs own around half of the retailer through Walton Family Holdings Trust and a holding company, Walton Enterprises, according to Bloomberg. Those who receive first dibs on the wealth are sons Jim and Rob, and daughter Alice, as well as Sam’s late son John’s widow, Christy Walton, along with Lucas, his grandson from the marriage. Nancy Walton Laurie, the daughter of Sam’s brother and business partner Bud, also receives earnings.
According to the National Retail Federation, Walmart ranked in the No. 1 spot of the nation’s leading merchants based on sales, from which the retailer made nearly $375 billion last year.
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As part of its growth strategy, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer has strategized to challenge its competitors, including Amazon, by acquiring digital businesses such as Jet.com and ShoeBuy, ModCloth and Moosejaw.
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