Retail

Meet Lukas Walton, the fiercely private heir to the Walmart empire who has donated millions from his fortune to find solutions to environmental problems

Ben Tobin and Ryder Kimball
Updated
2023-07-10T20:57:26Z
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Lukas Walton
Walton Family Foundation
  • Lukas Walton is the grandson of Sam Walton, the American businessman who created the Walmart empire.
  • After his father died in a plane crash in 2015, Lukas reportedly inherited a third of his fortune.
  • The Bloomberg Billionaires Index lists Lukas as the world's 61st-richest person as of July 2023.
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Lukas Walton is the grandson of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart and Sam's Club.

sam walton
Associated Press

Source: Forbes, The New York Times

Lukas' father, John T. Walton, was Sam's second-oldest son. In 2005, John died while piloting an ultra-light, homemade aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff.

John Walton
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: The New York Times, Business Insider, Bloomberg

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Lukas grew up in National City in San Diego County, a town with a median household income of over $51,000 as of 2021.

san diego
Sebastien Burel/Shutterstock

Source: Intelligencer, US Census Bureau

 

When he was only 3 years old, Lukas was diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer that spread to his lungs.

Screen Shot 2020 02 19 at 4.13.38 PM
The Walton family. Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: Intelligencer

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Within 5 months he had recovered, which his mother, Christy, attributed to a plant-based diet with produce sourced from her own garden.

Christy Walton
AP

Source: Intelligencer

Following John's premature death, Christy and Lukas moved to Jackson, Wyoming.

jackson hole
Getty Images

Source: Intelligencer, Forbes

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John left about one-sixth of his fortune to his wife, Christy, one-third to his only son, Lukas, and the remaining half to charitable trusts.

John Walton
John (right) is pictured here with his mother (center) and brother, Rob (left). April L. Brown/Associated Press

Source: Bloomberg, Forbes

Lukas also inherited his father's 20% interest in Walton Enterprises, the family holding company that, together with a different family trust, owns more than a 50% stake in Walmart.

luke walton
Wealth-X; Scott Olson/Getty; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

Source: Business Insider, Bloomberg

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Forbes listed Lukas as the 29th-richest American in 2022 but gave him a self-made score of one (out of 10), indicating that he inherited his fortune but is not actively increasing it.

Walmart sign
Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Source: Forbes

Lukas attended Colorado College, where he created his own major focusing on environmentally sustainable business and later studied energy efficiency and hydrological and geothermal energy in Iceland.

Colorado College
Wikimedia Commons

Source: Forbes, Intelligencer, Walton Family Foundation

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Rob Walton, the eldest son of Sam Walton, believes that his family's "environmental focus really grew out of a family connection to the land."

Wal-Mart family Jim Walton, Alice Walton and Rob Walton
Jim Walton, Alice Walton, and Rob Walton cheer at the annual shareholders meeting for Walmart in Fayetteville, Arkansas. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Source: Walton Family Foundation

Sam and his wife, Helen, are said to have instilled a love for the environment in their children and grandchildren, with yearly outings to places like the Buffalo National River, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon.

Sam and Helen Walton
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: Walton Family Foundation

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In recent years Lukas has applied his studies and passion for sustainable business to investments and projects undertaken by the Walton Family Foundation, an organization aimed at finding solutions to social and environmental problems.

Walton Family Foundation
Facebook/Walton Family Foundation

Source: Walton Family Foundation

Lukas serves as the environment program committee chair and is also a board member for the organization. He is reported to have donated at least $150 million of his own fortune to the foundation.

Walton Family Foundation
Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: Walton Family Foundation, Forbes

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Forbes reports that between 2014 and 2018 the Walton Family Foundation donated almost $1 billion to K-12 education programs and $441 million to environmental projects.

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Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: Forbes, Walton Family Foundation

On the foundation's work, Lukas recalled that "one of the first grants that we did back in the day was help to develop a sustainable fisheries label. That to me, was a shooting star, was a golden emblem of what would be a successful marketplace development."

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The Walton Family Foundation has focused its efforts on the places that support humans. Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: Walton Family Foundation

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In 2021, Lukas founded and publicly launched Builder's Vision, a Chicago-based philanthropic group working to tackle social and environmental problems.

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Lukas Walton discussing the foundation's work. Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: Fast Company

Lukas Walton is the richest person in Illinois, according to the Chicago Tribune. In July 2022, he and his wife, Samantha, sold their home in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood for $1.7 million, the paper reported.

Chicago skyline Lincoln Park
Songquan Deng/Shutterstock

Source: Chicago Tribune

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Lukas keeps a low public profile. He has no known social media sites and other personal details are largely absent online.

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Lukas Walton discussing the Walton Family Foundation's work. Walton Family Foundation/YouTube

Source: Business Insider

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