By Victor Akan
Nothing about the modest brick building on NW 2nd Street hints at the vast wealth coursing through it.
The property, nestled in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas, is the home of Walton Enterprises — steward of the greatest family fortune in the world.
It is through this private investment office that the descendants of Sam Walton, penny-pinching founder of Walmart Inc., have bound themselves together as their wealth has accrued over generations.
And, oh, how it has accrued. Today, 62 years after the first true Walmart opened, the Waltons are richer than ever. Their combined fortune has shot to a record $432.4 billion, placing them back on top of the annual Bloomberg ranking of the world’s wealthiest families.
You don’t have to be a billionaire to grasp a gilded rule of the rich: Great wealth begets even greater wealth.
The Waltons, regulars on our list, keep getting richer for a simple reason: Walmart stock. As of Dec. 10, it was up 80% this year. The surge lifted the dynasty’s combined wealth by $172.7 billion in 12 months — that’s $473.2 million a day, or $328,577 a minute — eclipsing the fortunes of the Emirati royals who took the top spot on the Bloomberg list in 2023.
Sam Walton laid the foundations for this. He strategically divided his fortune among his children to maintain family control and ensure their wealth would keep growing.
Since his death in 1992, his heirs have hewed to a principle that has paid off handsomely for the Waltons and many other families on our list: stick together. Walton Enterprises has provided glue by overseeing most of the family’s combined and ever-more-valuable stake in Walmart.
That principle is instructive for the scores of people poised to inherit trillions in the next quarter century. Families that have stayed united in ownership of major assets benefit from enhanced compounding and control. The families behind luxury brand Hermes and drugmaker Roche are among those with pacts ensuring cohesion.
Like the Waltons, most of the 25 families on the Bloomberg list got richer this year thanks to robust markets. Collectively, they gained $406.5 billion. Many are familiar names: the Johnsons (mutual funds and retirement accounts), the Thomsons (media), Mars and Ferrero (candy).
One new entrant is the Ofers, whose fortune originated with an Israeli shipping company. Today their empire spans multiple industries across the globe, with assets controlled separately by second-generation brothers Eyal and Idan.
Another newcomer: Chearavanont, a Thai dynasty whose conglomerate, CP Group, runs fish farms and 7-Eleven stores and makes animal feed, among other things.
Money can tear families apart. But it can also help keep the peace. Over the years, the Waltons have sold Walmart stock in steady increments to diversify their family portfolio and give family members the freedom to pursue other interests. The retailer today accounts for about 70% of the family fortune.
Sam Walton’s descendants no longer have direct roles at Walmart. (His son Rob, 80, stepped down from the board this year, a move announced by Rob’s son-in-law, Walmart board Chair Greg Penner.) And their money is starting to wind its way into areas far removed from discount retail.
Rob Walton, his daughter Carrie and her husband, Penner, paid a then-record $4.65 billion for the NFL’s Denver Broncos in 2022 and have, on paper, made money.
Sam’s daughter, Alice, 75, has funded a top-tier art museum that’s gradually turned Bentonville into a cultural destination.
And Sam’s grandson Lukas Walton, 38, has funneled some of his wealth into Builders Vision, a multi-pronged platform spanning investing, philanthropy and advocacy aimed at combating some of the planet’s thorniest climate crises.
“When you empower individuals to pursue and support their own interests, the ROI is not only financial,” said Nicole Clabaugh, vice president of client operations at Aquilance, which provides finance management tools to the ultra-wealthy. “It also gives them a sense of ownership in the preservation of wealth.”
1: NAME: Walton
COMPANYWalmart
WEALTH$432.4bn
INDUSTRYConsumer retail
LOCATIONUnited States
GENERATIONS3
Walmart is the world’s largest retailer by revenue — $648.1 billion in the most recent fiscal year from more than 10,600 stores worldwide. The Waltons own about 46% of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer, a stake that’s the foundation of the world’s biggest family fortune.
Did you know?
Rob Walton retired from the Walmart board this year after serving on it for 46 years.
2: NAME: Al-Nahyan
COMPANYN/A
WEALTH$323.9bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONUnited Arab Emirates
GENERATIONS3
One of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is the nation’s capital and where the vast majority of its oil reserves are found. The ruling Al Nahyan family has presided over the area that now constitutes the UAE for decades, even before oil transformed the economy and the royals’ finances. Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is also the country’s president. Other family members hold roles in both government and the private sector, a common blurring of lines between state and personal interests. National security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon oversees assets — both personal and sovereign funds — worth almost $1.5 trillion.
Did you know?
Companies linked to royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan make up at least two-thirds of the weighting of Abu Dhabi’s benchmark stock index.
3: NAME: Al-Thani
COMPANYN/A
WEALTH$172.9bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONQatar
GENERATIONS8
The Al Thani family’s rule over Qatar began in the mid-19th century and has endured through Ottoman and British imperialism, the founding of the modern state, wars and two coups. Oil was discovered around 1940 but it was the decision to mine its massive offshore gas fields that truly transformed the country and took its rulers to the highest echelons of global wealth. Family members occupy numerous political posts and dominate the local economy, owning businesses from hotels to insurers to contractors. They also hold prized foreign assets like homes in London’s Mayfair, stud farms and fashion label Valentino. The number of Al Thanis is in the thousands, though power is concentrated within a few key branches. At points in time they’ve comprised almost half of tiny Qatar’s citizenry, according to Harvard research.
Did you know?
Qatar’s prime minister sold a mansion in London’s Mayfair to a fellow Qatari royal in 2023 for $49 million.
4: NAME: Hermès
COMPANYHermès
WEALTH$170.6bn
INDUSTRYLuxury goods
LOCATIONFrance
GENERATIONS6
The sixth-generation family comprising more than 100 members owns the French luxury fashion company famous for its Kelly bags, which can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. Among the family members who maintain senior positions at the company are Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the artistic director, and executive chairman Axel Dumas.
Did you know?
The family brought together eight family offices and investment vehicles from various branches into a single entity, Krefeld Invest, in 2022.
5: NAME: Koch
COMPANYKoch Inc.
WEALTH$148.5bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONUnited States
GENERATIONS3
Brothers Frederick, Charles, David and William inherited father Fred’s oil firm. A fraternal feud over control of the company in the early 1980s led Frederick and William to leave the family business while Charles and David stayed. It grew into Koch, a Wichita, Kansas-based conglomerate with annual revenue of about $125 billion. The family manages a portion of its wealth through family office 1888 Management.
Did you know?
Koch-backed super PAC Americans for Prosperity Action backed Nikki Haley for president and also focused on down-ballot races in the 2024 cycle.
6: NAME:Al-Saud
COMPANYN/A
WEALTH$140bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONSaudi Arabia
GENERATIONS3
The 92-year-old monarchy for which Saudi Arabia is named can credit the nation’s massive oil reserves for seeding its collective fortune. This net worth estimate is based on cumulative payouts royal family members are calculated to have received over the past 50 years from the Royal Diwan, the executive office of the king. The total wealth controlled by its estimated 15,000 extended members is likely much higher. Many royals have made money through brokering government contracts and land deals and by founding businesses that service state companies, such as Saudi Aramco. The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund PIF has $925 billion in assets. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally controls assets worth more than $1 billion.
Did you know?
Saudi royal money financed the $450 million purchase of Leonardo DaVinci painting Salvator Mundi in 2017.
7: NAME: Mars
COMPANYMars Inc.
WEALTH$133.8bn
INDUSTRYConfectionery, pet care
LOCATIONUnited States
GENERATIONS5
Frank Mars began selling molasses candies in 1902 at the age of 19. The business he went on to create is best known for M&M’s and Milky Way and Snickers bars, though pet-care products now make up more than half of the company’s revenue. Mars’s $35.9 billion acquisition of snack-food maker Kellanova is expected to close next year.
Did you know?
Ethel V. Mars bred 1940 Kentucky Derby winner Gallahadion on the family’s Milky Way Farm in Tennessee.
8: NAME: Ambani
COMPANYReliance Industries
WEALTH$99.6bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONIndia
GENERATIONS3
Dhirubhai Ambani, the father of Mukesh and Anil, started building the precursor to Reliance Industries in the 1950s. When Dhirubhai died in 2002 without leaving a will, his widow brokered a settlement between her sons over control of the family fortune. Mukesh is now at the helm of the Mumbai-based conglomerate, which owns the world’s largest oil refining complex. He lives in a 27-story mansion that’s been called the world’s most expensive private residence.
Did you know?
Mukesh said in August that Reliance is set to more than double in size before the end of the decade.
9: NAMEWertheimer
COMPANYChanel
WEALTH$88bn
INDUSTRYLuxury goods
LOCATIONFrance
GENERATIONS3
Brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer are reaping the benefits of their grandfather’s funding of designer Coco Chanel in 1920s Paris. Their family owns the closely held fashion house, which introduced the “little black dress” to the world and had revenue of almost $20 billion in 2023. The Wertheimers also own racehorses and vineyards. Their half-brother, Charles Heilbronn, heads their family office Mousse Partners.
Did you know?
Alain and Gerard’s mother, Eliane Heilbronn, was an accomplished attorney who wrote Karl Lagerfeld’s employment contract for Chanel. She died in November at age 99.
10: NAME: Thomson
COMPANYThomson Reuters
WEALTH$87.1bn
INDUSTRYMedia
LOCATIONCanada
GENERATIONS3
The wealth of Canada’s richest family originated in the early 1930s when Roy Thomson opened an Ontario radio station. He branched out into newspapers and became the country’s leading media owner and eventually the 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet. The family holds about a 70% stake in financial data and services provider Thomson Reuters through investment firm Woodbridge. The Toronto-based company had $6.8 billion of revenue last year.
Did you know?
Third-generation family member, Peter Thomson, owns a rally car racing team and has won multiple titles as a driver.
11. NAME: Johnson
COMPANYFidelity Investments
WEALTH$72.4bn
INDUSTRYFinance
LOCATIONUnited States
GENERATIONS3
The Boston financial services empire was founded by Edward C. Johnson II in Boston in 1946. It is now run by his granddaughter, Abigail. The closely held firm has responded to the shift away from actively managed mutual funds in favor of low-cost index funds by building a digital assets arm and expanding its wealth and retirement offerings. It had $15 trillion in assets under administration as of September. The Johnsons’ family office, Crosby, is based in New Hampshire.
Did you know?
Fidelity’s employee headcount grew from 50,000 to 76,000 over the past four years.
12. NAMEAlbrecht
COMPANYAldi
WEALTH$60.2bn
INDUSTRYConsumer retail
LOCATIONGermany
GENERATIONS3
Theo and Karl took over their parents’ grocery store after returning home from World War II and turned it into Aldi, a national chain of discount supermarkets. The brothers divided the business in the 1960s. The two branches – Aldi Nord and Aldi Sued – now have more than 10,000 stores combined. Theo’s side of the family also owns Trader Joe’s, which it bought in 1979.
Did you know?
The name Aldi is short for “Albrecht Discount.”
13. NAME: Pritzker
COMPANYMultiple
WEALTH$59.4bn
INDUSTRYDiversified
LOCATIONUnited States
GENERATIONS4
The son of a Ukrainian immigrant, A.N. Pritzker began investing in real estate and troubled companies while working for his father’s law firm. The investments seeded the fortune of one of America’s oldest dynasties, whose assets include Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels. Family members include prominent Democrats. Penny Pritzker served as US commerce secretary under President Obama and J.B. Pritzer is the current governor of Illinois. Family-owned investment groups include Pritzker Organization, PSP Partners and Pritzker Private Capital.
Did you know?
Fourth-generation member Liesel Pritzker Simmons has advocated for the US to hike taxes on the rich and implement a wealth tax.
14. NAME: Cargill, MacMillan
COMPANYCargill
WEALTH$56bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONUnited States
GENERATIONS7
Members of this family are majority owners of Cargill, a food and agriculture company that had revenue of $160 billion in the 12 months ending in May. It was founded by William W. Cargill, who started the commodities business with one grain storage warehouse in Conover, Iowa, in 1865. His descendants maintain control of the Minneapolis-based industrial giant. Both branches share a family office, Waycrosse.
Did you know?
Cargill is cutting about 5% of its 164,000-strong workforce after profits slumped to their lowest level in almost a decade.
15. NAME: Ofer
COMPANYMultiple
WEALTH$55.6bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONIsrael
GENERATIONS2
Sammy Ofer bought a small cargo ship in the 1950s after a tour with the British Royal Navy. That ship spawned an international maritime operation encompassing one of the largest privately held shipping fleets in the world. Sammy died in 2011 and his assets were divided between his sons, Monaco-based Eyal and UK-based Idan, who helm separate commercial groups involved in shipping, real estate, energy and other industries.
Did you know?
Sammy Ofer was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2008 for his services to UK maritime heritage.
16. NAME: Hoffmann, Oeri
COMPANYRoche
WEALTH$53.8bn
INDUSTRYPharmaceuticals
LOCATIONSwitzerland
GENERATIONS5
Drug maker Roche Holding was founded by entrepreneur Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche in 1896. His descendants control around 10% of the Basel-based company, whose blockbuster oncology drugs helped the group generate $65.4 billion in 2023 revenue. Family members have been prominent supporters of nature conservation.
Did you know?
Family member Maja Sacher initiated and largely financed the building of the Basel Museum of Contemporary Art.
17. NAME: Hartono
COMPANYDjarum Group
WEALTH$47bn
INDUSTRYFinance
LOCATIONIndonesia
GENERATIONS3
Oei Wie Gwan purchased a nearly-bankrupt cigarette brand in 1951 and renamed it Djarum. The business started as a 10-person operation and grew into one of the largest cigarette makers in Indonesia. After Oei died in 1963, his sons Michael and Budi diversified by investing in Bank Central Asia. That stake now makes up most of the family’s fortune.
Did you know?
The family developed Grand Indonesia, one of the most popular shopping malls in Jakarta.
18. NAME: Quandt
COMPANYBMW
WEALTH$46bn
INDUSTRYAutomotive
LOCATIONGermany
GENERATIONS4
Herbert Quandt helped turn Bayerische Motoren Werke from a struggling carmaker into one of the world’s largest manufacturers of luxury vehicles. Family matriarch Johanna Quandt died in 2015 and her children, Stefan Quandt and Susanne Klatten, own nearly half of the Munich-based company.
Did you know?
Family charitable foundation, Stiftung Charite, is dedicated to promoting Berlin as a world hub for life sciences.
19. NAME: Chearavanont
COMPANYCharoen Pokphand Group
WEALTH$44.1bn
INDUSTRYDiversified
LOCATIONThailand
GENERATIONS4
Chia Ek Chor fled his typhoon-ravaged village in southern China and started a new life in Thailand, selling vegetable seeds with his brother in 1921. A century later, Chia’s son, Dhanin Chearavanont, is senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, a conglomerate with food, retail and telecom units.
Did you know?
Charoen Pokphand translates to “prosperity to consumers” in Thai.
20: NAME: Duncan
COMPANY: Enterprise Products Partners
WEALTH$43.8bn
INDUSTRYIndustrial
LOCATIONUnited States
GENERATIONS2
Dan Duncan started working for oilfield companies after leaving the US Army. He co-founded natural gas liquids wholesaler Enterprise Products in 1968 with about $10,000. The company went public in 1998 and is now one of the biggest midstream energy companies in the US. Duncan died in 2010 and his four children inherited the trusts that together own the biggest stake in Houston-based Enterprise. His daughter Randa is chair of the company’s board. They invest through the Duncan Family Office.
Did you know?
Randa Duncan Williams, an avid reader, bought celebrated magazine Texas Monthly in 2019.
21. NAMEVan Damme, De Spoelberch, De Mevius
COMPANY: Anheuser-Busch InBev
WEALTH$43.7bn
INDUSTRY: Beverages
LOCATION: Belgium
GENERATION: S5
The collective enterprise of these three Belgian beermaking families has roots in the 14th century. The Van Damme family joined the others when the 1987 merger between Piedboeuf and Artois led to the creation of Interbrew, which merged with Brazil’s AmBev in 2004. Their family offices include Patrinvest and Verlinvest.
Did you know?
Family investment firm Verlinvest plans to double its annual investment in India’s consumer sector over the next few years.
22. NAME: Boehringer, Von Baumbach
COMPANY: Boehringer Ingelheim
WEALTH: $43bn
INDUSTRY: Pharmaceuticals
LOCATION: Germany
GENERATIONS4
The German pharmaceuticals company Boehringer Ingelheim was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer. Nearly 140 years later, the Boehringer family, encompassing the von Baumbachs, is still in charge of what’s now Germany’s biggest drugmaker by sales, with $27.7 billion in revenue in 2023. Chairman Hubertus von Baumbach and his extended family are owners of the closely held company, which is based in Ingelheim am Rhein.
Did you know?
Boehringer is developing its own weight-loss drug based on an experimental peptide called Survodutide.
23. NAME: Mistry
COMPANY: Shapoorji Pallonji Group
WEALTH: $41.4bn
INDUSTRY: Diversified
LOCATION: India
GENERATION S5
The family business was founded in India in 1865, when Pallonji Mistry started a construction enterprise with an Englishman. Shapoorji Pallonji Group now spans various sectors, including engineering and construction. Most of the family fortune is illiquid: It’s tied to Tata Sons, the holding company behind Tata Group that controls Jaguar Land Rover. Following a family feud, Tata Sons changed its status to a private firm, restricting the Mistrys’ ability to sell their stake, and when Tata Sons offered to buy it out the two sides couldn’t agree on a price. Pallonji Mistry died at age 93 in 2022, and his younger son, Cyrus, passed away months later in a car crash.
Did you know?
Pallonji Mistry was often called the Phantom of Bombay House in reference to Tata’s headquarters and his quiet demeanor.
24. NAME: Newhouse
COMPANY: Advance Publications
WEALTH: $38.8bn
INDUSTRY: Media
LOCATION: United States
GENERATIONS3
Samuel Irving Newhouse founded Advance in 1922. He built up a portfolio of newspapers, magazines, cable television and radio stations that sons Samuel and Donald eventually ran. In recent years the group has sought to diversify, and purchases have included the Ironman race series and Reddit, which went public this year. A family-owned fund, Advance Venture Partners, invests in software, commerce and media sectors.
Did you know?
The family is a major shareholder in both Warner Bros. Discovery and Charter Communications.
25: NAME: Ferrero
COMPANY: Ferrero
WEALTH: $37.4bn
INDUSTRY: Confectionery
LOCATION: Italy
GENERATIONS3
Michele Ferrero built a global chocolate confectionery company from a single store in the Italian town of Alba. His son Giovanni took sole charge of the family business after his other son Pietro died in a cycling accident in 2011. Ferrero acquired Nestle’s US candy business for $2.8 billion in 2018. The family manages money through Monaco-based Fedesa and Luxembourg-based Teseo Capital.
Did you know?
Michele Ferrero took inspiration from Italian Easter traditions when he created the Kinder Surprise egg in 1974.
Credit: BLOOMBERG
FOR ADVERT AND NEWS PUBLICATION, EMAIL US @ tarakirivoicenewspaper@gmail.com or call or WhatsApp us on 08160439769
