Sam Walton: Founder of Walmart and Sam's Club
Business Owner · Retail & E-commerce
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962 and built it into the world's largest corporation by revenue. He was the richest person in the United States from 1982 to 1988.
About Sam Walton: Founder of Walmart and Sam's Club
Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 to April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate, philanthropist and military veteran, best known for co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962 and in Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's largest corporation by revenue and the biggest private employer in the world. Walton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee, and lived on the family farm until they moved in 1923. Farming did not provide enough to raise a family, and his father went into farm mortgaging, working for his brother's Walton Mortgage Company, an agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance, where he foreclosed on farms during the Great Depression. The family moved from small town to small town, mostly in Missouri. While in eighth grade in Shelbina, Missouri, Sam became the youngest Eagle Scout in the state's history, and he later received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. Growing up in the Depression, he did chores to help the family make ends meet, milking the family cow, bottling the surplus and delivering it to customers. From 1982 to 1988 Walton was the richest person in the United States, and his family has remained the richest family in the country for several consecutive years, with a net worth of around $440.62 billion as of January 2026. He died of blood cancer in 1992, at the age of 74, and is buried in the Bentonville Cemetery in Bentonville, Arkansas, his longtime home. Sources: English Wikipedia (Sam Walton, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Founder, Walmart and Sam's Club (1918-1992)
Company Details
Walmart / Sam's Club
Retail, Discount Stores
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