Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's largest corporation by revenue as well as the biggest private employer in the world. For a period of time, Walton was the richest person in the United States. His family has remained the richest family in the U.S. for several consecutive years, with a net worth of around $440.6 billion US as of January 2025. In 1992 at the age of 74, Walton died of blood cancer and was buried at the Bentonville Cemetery in his longtime home of Bentonville, Arkansas.
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👉 Sam Walton in the context of Sam's Club
Sam's West, Inc. (doing business as Sam's Club) is a division of Walmart that operates a chain of membership-only warehouse club retail stores. Founded in 1983 as Sam's Wholesale Club, it was named after Walmart founder Sam Walton. As of January 31, 2025, Sam's Club ranks second in sales volume among warehouse clubs with $90.2 billion in sales, ahead of BJ's Wholesale Club but behind its main rival Costco.
As of May 18, 2025, Sam's Club operates 600 membership warehouse clubs in the United States across 44 states and Puerto Rico, with no locations in Alaska, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington State, or Vermont. Sam's Club offers car wash services at gas stations in 41 locations.
In this Dossier
Sam Walton in the context of Walmart
Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other countries. It is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was founded in 1962 by brothers Sam Walton and James "Bud" Walton in nearby Rogers, Arkansas. It also owns and operates Sam's Club retail warehouses.
Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue. Walmart is also the largest private employer in the world, with 2.1 million employees. It is a publicly traded family-owned business (the largest such business in the world), as the company is controlled by the Walton family. Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through both their holding company Walton Enterprises and their individual holdings.
Sam Walton in the context of Bud Walton
James Lawrence "Bud" Walton (December 20, 1921 – March 21, 1995) was the brother of Sam Walton and a Walmart businessman.