Why the Waltons?
The Walton family is the richest family in the United States and one of the richest and most powerful in the world. They are heirs to the Walmart fortune and the company’s largest shareholders, with a nearly-fifty percent ownership of stock in the retail giant.
Sam Walton and his brother Bud opened their first Walmart discount store in 1962. Today three family members serve on Walmart’s board of directors;[1] Rob is the chair, and sits on the board with his brother Jim and his son-in-law, Greg Penner.
Six members of the family rank among the top eleven on Forbes’ list of wealthiest Americans,[2] with a combined net worth of about $93 billion. With their 49% stake in Walmart, they brought in an estimated $2.2 billion in dividends from Walmart stock last year alone.
Through the millions the family spends on elections and its donations to right-wing causes, the Waltons are effectively gaining an outsized influence in our democracy.
The Waltons aren’t just the face of the 1%; they’re the face of the 0.000001%. In 2007, when the six Waltons on the Forbes list were worth $69.7 billion, their wealth was equal to the total wealth of the bottom 30% of American families.[3] When new data on American wealth is available later in 2012, it will likely show an even wider gap between the Waltons and the rest of American families. The Waltons are worth $93 billion now, while most Americans still haven’t recovered from the recession.
Why does all of this matter? Walmart, the country’s largest private employer pays its associates an average of $8.81 an hour.[4] That means even full-time workers at Walmart make an average of just $15,500 a year. The Waltons make billions a year off of Walmart, while many Walmart associates struggle for respect on the job and enough pay just to make ends meet. As the largest corporation in the United States, Walmart sets the standard for other companies. Walmart’s practices put pressure on many other businesses to lower wages and benefits in order to compete.
Through their family legacy, positions on Walmart’s board of directors, and their 49% stake in the company, the Waltons have the power to turn 1.4 million Walmart jobs into good jobs. Despite their power to improve the lives of Walmart workers, the Walton family has chosen not to do so.
[1] investors.walmartstores.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=112761&p=irol-govboard
[2] www.forbes.com/forbes-400/
[3] blogs.berkeley.edu/2011/12/05/the-few-the-proud-the-very-rich/
[4] www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110214/203/3463
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I despise Wal-Mart. I have never been in one and have no intention of ever going into one. If the general public used as much energy blaming Wal-Mart for it’s real agenda as they do blaming minorities, African Americans and Jews for the woes of the world the Waltons might get demoted to just rich. I do believe for this family indentured servitude and good old fashioned slavery are still very much in favor. They put other businesses out of business and keep Chinese greed growing and Chinese workers imprisioned making cheap crap that should not be made, let alone sold. They know their demographic. I know mine. Wal-Mart =Exploitation and Cheap prices for even cheaper crap. Shop elsewhere.