How Alice Walton Beat the Rivals to Claim the Title of World’s Richest Woman

Before March, the richest woman in the world was Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the heiress of the cosmetics company L’Oréal. That title now goes to Alice Walton, the only daughter of Sam Walton (d. 1992), who was the founder of Walmart. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Alice Walton has a net worth of $138 billion. He is the founder of Walton Enterprises along with his siblings, although his brother, Jim C. Walton, is considered the family leader of the company. Alice Walton has been at the top of the Forbes list of the richest women in the United States, but now her wealth exceeds that of female billionaires around the world.

Walmart Heir Is World’s Richest Woman

Walmart has been listed as the world’s largest retailer for more than a decade, according to the Fortune 500 rankings. However, the company’s shares have grown significantly in recent years, partly due to the rise of online commerce and the current economic climate. Walmart has made its name by offering affordable prices that are accessible to the average American. In fact, most of the profits come from the stores alone.

Since January 2025, Walmart’s stock price has increased by 25.3%, and now stands at $113.56, according to Zacks Investment Research. According to Walmart’s 2025 Annual Report, the retailer earned $681 billion in revenue, an increase of 5.1% from last year. Therefore, the rise of Alice Walton’s wealth is not surprising. He has no active role in running Walmart, although he worked there for a short time in 1971 as a buyer for children’s clothing. He then turned to finance and founded the investment bank Llama Company in 1988, which was closed ten years later.

Alice Walton is a dedicated patron of the arts. He owns a large art collection, including original pieces by famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, and Georgia O’Keeffe, according to Business Insider. In 2011, he became chairman of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, to house his private $500 million art collection. He is credited as the founder of the museum, although most of the $1.6 billion that was paid to open it came from trusts under the names of his late brother, John, and late mother, Helen. In 2014, he paid $44.4 million for a single painting by Georgia O’Keeffe, which was the most expensive art by a female artist. The work is now on display in a museum.

Art belongs to everyone

The richest woman in the world is also a philanthropist. She has her own charity, the Alice L. Walton Foundation, whose mission is to make art accessible to everyone. It also collaborates to help provide quality education and health care to those who need it. The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine was established in 2021. The organization also runs the non-profit Heartland Whole Institute. In 2016, he donated 3.7 million of his Walmart shares (worth about $225 million) to his family’s non-profit organization called the Walton Family Foundation. In 2017, the foundation gave $120 million to the University of Arkansas to establish a School of the Arts.

He also gave money and working committees to Republican political candidates. However, in 2016, he supported Hillary Clinton and donated $353,400 to the Hillary Victory Fund. He also devoted a lot of time to raising horses, although he stepped back from it in 2015 to focus more on his art museum.

Alice Walton bought a two-story condo on New York City’s Park Avenue for $25 million in 2014, and the property made headlines the following year when there were protests outside her building. At the time, people were demanding that Walmart workers get better treatment, full-time work and a $15 minimum wage, according to Vice. Many workers complain about poor organization that excludes them from benefits and makes it difficult for them to take another job.

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Walmart’s New Customer Base

In recent years, Walmart has improved its image and merchandise to attract high-income shoppers. “I think it’s an indication of how Walmart is changing and how our customer base is changing,” said CFO John David Rainey at a retail industry conference in New York earlier this month. “We continue to grow and gain share with these high income demographics.Meanwhile, Walmart’s customer base, those with low or moderate incomes, may struggle to make purchases in this economy due to slow wage growth, inflation, prices, and rising costs of living.

“It bothers me to hear that affluent customers shop at low-price stores like Walmart and TJX because it’s a sign that things are getting expensive all around.,” said marketing expert Trae Bodge speaking to NBC News. “Obviously, if you’re very rich, you can buy the things you need. But if you want low prices, where does the low-cost consumer go?”

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