Jim Walton
- Net worth $127 billion
- Birthday June 7, 1948
- Status -
- Country United States
- Source(-s) of wealth Businessman, Philanthropist
How much is Jim Walton Worth? Jim Walton Net Worth in 2026
Jim Walton’s net worth is estimated at $127 billion as of November 2026. Of Sam Walton’s three surviving children, he holds the most Walmart stock in his own name: 31,521,372 shares, worth about $4 billion. The February 2026 SEC filing says 3,222,342 of them, about $405 million worth at the November 9, 2026 close, are pledged as security for lines of credit extended to a company not affiliated with Walmart. In December 2024 the pledged count was 4,464,286.
| Net worth | $127 billion (our estimate, range $105 billion to $150 billion) |
|---|---|
| Estimated annual income | About $900 million in Walmart dividends before tax (our estimate) |
| Born | June 7, 1948, Newport, Arkansas |
| Age | 78 |
| Country | United States |
| Known for | Walmart heir, Walmart director since 2005, chairman of Arvest Bank Group |
| Main income sources | Walmart shares held directly and through Walton Enterprises and a family trust, dividends, Arvest Bank |
How much is Jim Walton worth in 2026?
We put Jim Walton at about $127 billion, in a range of $105 billion to $150 billion. Nearly all of it is Walmart stock, and the family’s holdings are filed with the SEC down to the last share. What the filings don’t show is how the family company is divided among the four branches of Sam Walton’s heirs, so his quarter of it is our assumption.
Our Top 10 Richest Heirs and Heiresses ranking puts him first. On this ledger he still comes out ahead of his brother Rob and his sister Alice, because his own shares and the family bank add about $6.0 billion on top of the shared family holdings, against about $4.3 billion for Rob’s own shares and Broncos stake and $2.5 billion for Alice’s own shares.
Public estimates run from about $145 billion to $152 billion. The gap is mostly the split: those numbers appear to credit him with more than a quarter of the family company, and some include decades of older dividends that no filing totals. We count only what the filings let us trace, after tax.
How we got to $127 billion
Every Walmart row uses the $125.66 closing price on November 9, 2026.
| Source | Our estimate | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter of Walton Enterprises | $94.3 billion | The family company holds 3,002,673,393 Walmart shares, per the March 2026 SEC filing. It is run by four managing trusts, one per branch of the family, and his is WELLCO Mgmt Trust #2. We credit his branch with a quarter, 750.7 million shares. The equal split is our assumption. |
| Quarter of the Walton Family Holdings Trust | $16.4 billion | The trust held 520,735,838 shares on February 27, 2026. A 2020 Form 4 says it was set up for the holders of Walton Enterprises’ membership interests, so the same quarter applies: 130.2 million shares. |
| Shares he holds directly | $4.0 billion | 31,521,372 shares, the same count in the December 2024 filing and the March 2026 one. |
| Trust sales and payouts since 2020, after tax | $8.3 billion | The trust received 415 million shares in 2020, or 1,245,000,000 after the three-for-one split, and is down to 520,735,838. His quarter of the 641 million that left by December 2024 is valued at an assumed $55 a share, and his quarter of the 83 million that left since then at an assumed $100. That is $10.9 billion, less 23.8 percent federal tax. |
| Dividends on his Walton Enterprises quarter, 2022 to August 2026, after tax | $2.3 billion | Walmart paid $4.02 a share over that stretch, split adjusted. On 750.7 million shares that is $3.0 billion, less 23.8 percent tax. |
| Arvest Bank stake | $2.1 billion | Arvest had $27.34 billion in assets on June 30, 2025, per the FDIC. Its last equity figure we could find is from 2018, 11.4 percent of assets, which on today’s assets gives about $3.1 billion. The family owns almost all of it and he chairs the holding company, so we credit him with two thirds. Both the ratio and the share are our assumptions. |
| Total | $127 billion | Rounded from $127.3 billion. His newspaper company, older cash and his giving are left out because we can’t put a documented number on them. |
The 23.8 percent is the 20 percent top federal rate on long-term gains plus the 3.8 percent net investment income tax, which also covers dividends. We leave state tax out, so if anything these rows run slightly high.
Paperwork that took the family shares off his name
On December 18, 2024, Jim Walton handed his managing interest in Walton Enterprises, for no payment, to a trust called WELLCO Mgmt Trust #2. His brother and sister did the same with trusts #1 and #3, according to the Schedule 13D filed that week. From then on, the 3 billion shares in the family company and about 604 million more in the family trust stopped being reported as his.
The money stayed put. The March 2026 amendment lists the trustees of Trust #2 as Jim Walton himself, his daughter Alice Proietti and his sons Steuart, Thomas and James. That is a different shape from his sister’s trust, which has one trustee: her. For a net worth estimate, what the transfer changed is the number printed under his name, which is why the filings alone can’t answer the question.
A $38 million gift that took four days
The filing’s transaction list shows the family trust handing Jim Walton 303,000 Walmart shares on February 26, 2026. On March 2 he gave the same 303,000 shares to charity. At today’s price that is about $38.1 million passing through his hands in four days.
By our calculation it is also small change for him. At Walmart’s $0.99 annual dividend, his assumed quarter of the company and trust plus his own shares, 912.4 million in all, pay about $903 million a year before tax. The gift equals about 15 days of that dividend income. Over the same days the trust sold 3,989,618 shares at weighted prices from $125.63 to $128.16, to meet what the filing calls the “investment, personal, and charitable objectives” of its beneficiaries.
The bank he founded
Arvest is the one large asset here that isn’t Walmart. The bank traces its charter to 1871, is based in Bentonville, Arkansas, and is almost entirely owned by the Walton family, with Jim Walton as chairman of the holding company Arvest Bank Group. Its assets have grown from $18.4 billion in 2018 to $27.34 billion in mid 2025.
In November 2025 Kevin Sabin retired as chief executive after running the bank since 2002, and president Matt Machen took over. That is the most recent dated event tied to Walton’s non-Walmart money. Even so, our two-thirds credit makes the bank about 1.6 percent of his total, which tells you how much heavier the Walmart side is.
He has spent his whole working life near the family’s money. He joined Walmart in 1972 to work on real estate deals, became president of Walton Enterprises in 1975 and took his late brother John’s seat on the Walmart board on September 28, 2005. He also chairs Community Publishers, the newspaper company his father started after buying the Benton County Daily Record.
What would move the figure
Walmart’s price does most of the work: each $10 move in the stock changes our total by about $9.1 billion. The next dividend goes ex on December 11, 2026, at $0.2475 a share. Further trust sales turn shares into cash and tax, and further gifts like the March one take money out. The family split is the big unknown. If part of his branch has already passed to his four children, his personal figure is lower, which sets our $105 billion floor. Older dividends we can’t see push the other way, toward $150 billion.
Jim Walton net worth FAQ
What is Jim Walton’s net worth?
We estimate $127 billion as of November 2026, in a range of $105 billion to $150 billion. About $125 billion of it traces back to Walmart stock, valued at the $125.66 close on November 9, 2026.
How many Walmart shares does Jim Walton own?
He holds 31,521,372 shares directly, the most of Sam Walton’s surviving children. His branch is also one of four behind Walton Enterprises, which holds 3,002,673,393 shares, and a family trust with 520,735,838.
How much does Jim Walton make from Walmart dividends?
About $903 million a year before tax, on our assumed quarter of the family company and trust plus his own shares, at the 2026 rate of $0.99 a share.
How much did Jim Walton give away in 2026?
An SEC filing shows he donated 303,000 Walmart shares to charity on March 2, 2026, four days after receiving them from the family trust. They are worth about $38.1 million at today’s price.
Does Jim Walton own Arvest Bank?
The Walton family owns almost all of it and he chairs Arvest Bank Group. The bank had $27.34 billion in assets in mid 2025. We credit him with about $2.1 billion of it, an assumption because no ownership split is public.
How old is Jim Walton?
He is 78, born June 7, 1948, in Newport, Arkansas. He earned a business degree from the University of Arkansas in 1971 and joined Walmart a year later.
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How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
Last updated: November 2026.
Photo: Walmart / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped