For the first time in five years, Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list has a new top-ranking woman. Alice Walton has reclaimed the title of the world’s richest woman with an estimated net worth of $101 billion, overtaking Francoise Bettencourt Meyers—the French L’Oréal heiress who held the position since 2021 and now ranks second with $81.6 billion.
The only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, Alice saw her wealth increase by $28.7 billion over the past year. This rise, attributed to a 40% jump in the value of her estimated 11% Walmart stake, comes as consumers turned to Walmart for its affordable pricing during inflation. In contrast, Bettencourt Meyers’ net worth dropped by $17.9 billion due to a nearly 20% decline in shares of L’Oréal, the company started by her grandfather, Eugène Schueller.
At 75, Walton is one of 15 people in the exclusive $100 Billion Club and the second woman to ever hit centibillionaire status, following Bettencourt Meyers, who reached the milestone in June 2024. She ranks 15th on the global list of wealthiest individuals, behind her brothers Rob and Jim Walton, valued at $110 billion and $109 billion, respectively.
After earning her degree from Trinity University in 1971, Alice briefly worked at Walmart as a children’s clothing buyer. She later became a stockbroker for E.F. Hutton in New Orleans. In the 1980s, she moved back to Bentonville, Arkansas to manage investments at Arvest Bank, before founding her own firm, Llama, with $19.5 million in family capital. Following Llama’s closure in 1998, she returned to Texas and turned her attention to art.
Walton is the founder of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, which opened in 2011 with funding primarily from family trusts. The museum spans 120 acres and features iconic works by artists such as Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe. In 2021, she passed the leadership of the museum to her nephew’s wife, Olivia Walton.
Over the past decade, Alice Walton has expanded her philanthropic efforts, channeling over $5.8 billion into five family-run foundations, which have distributed around $1.7 billion to date. This includes roughly $400 million through the Walton Family Foundation for initiatives in education, the environment, and the Bentonville region.
Her Art Bridges Foundation has invested more than $500 million to acquire and loan American artworks to over 230 museums nationwide. In August, the foundation committed another $249 million to fund the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, which plans to combine medical education with arts and wellness and will welcome its first class of 48 students in July.
“I want to create opportunities that help people and communities achieve their dreams,” Walton says on her foundation’s website. “It is the joy of my life, and a privilege to do so.”
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