How the Waltons spend their fortune

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

• The Waltons are the richest family in America.
• Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962. It is now the world’s largest retailer by revenue with annual sales of $500 billion from its nearly 12,000 stores worldwide. 
• Walton’s descendants have a combined wealth of $163.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. This is more than Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett, and nearly $70 billion more than the second-richest family in the United States, the Kochs. 
• In public, the Waltons live a pretty modest life despite their wealth. Here’s how they spend their fortune.

Walmart shares surged more than 10% on Thursday on news of its strong quarterly earnings report, giving the company’s founding family an $11.6 billion boost in net worth, Bloomberg reported. 

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, the Walmart heirs now have a combined wealth of $163.2 billion, which is more than Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett. In fact, they are worth more than $70 billion more than the second-richest family in the United States, the Kochs. 

The three children of Walmart founder Sam Walton co-own Walton Enterprises, which is the biggest shareholder of the company and the reason behind their wealth. Walmart is the world’s largest retailer by revenue with annual sales of $500 billion from its nearly 12,000 stores around the world. 

Only one of the siblings, Rob Walton, sits on the board of the company. James Walton, his brother, served on the board until 2016, before being replaced by his son Steuart in 2016.

Alice Walton, the youngest sibling, has never taken an active role running the business and has instead become a patron of the arts.

When the company has a good quarter, the family makes millions of dollars in dividends. However, despite their fortune, the Waltons seem to live a pretty modest life, at least in public.

Here’s what we do know about how the wealthy family spends its fortune: