Alice Walton Becomes the World's Richest Woman Again in 2025

Alice Walton, the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has returned to the top of Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list in 2025, reclaiming the title of the richest woman on the planet. Her estimated net worth has climbed to $101 billion, surpassing Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the L'Oréal heiress who had held the position since 2021. Bettencourt Meyers now ranks second with a fortune of $81.6 billion, impacted by a notable decline in L'Oréal’s share value.

Retail surge lifts Walton back to the top

The primary reason behind Walton’s financial ascent is the robust performance of Walmart, which experienced a significant stock increase of around 40%. With inflation pushing consumers toward lower-cost alternatives, the retail giant’s “Every Day Low Prices” strategy proved advantageous. Walton, who holds an estimated 11% stake in the company, benefited directly from this surge. In contrast, Bettencourt Meyers saw her net worth decline by $17.9 billion after L'Oréal’s shares fell nearly 20%, impacted by broader market pressures.

Walton family wealth continues to grow

At 75 years old, Alice Walton now joins the ranks of the $100 Billion Club, a group of just 15 individuals worldwide. She is the second woman to ever reach such a financial milestone, after Bettencourt Meyers accomplished the same in mid-2024. Walton currently stands as the 15th richest person globally, behind her brothers Rob Walton ($110 billion) and Jim Walton ($109 billion), highlighting the extensive wealth of the Walton family.

From finance to art and education

A graduate of Trinity University in Texas, Walton started her career modestly at Walmart, working as a children’s clothing buyer. She later moved to New Orleans to work as a stockbroker at E.F. Hutton and returned to Bentonville, Arkansas, in the 1980s to manage investment operations at Arvest Bank. She eventually founded Llama Company, a lending and brokerage firm funded with $19.5 million from family sources. After the company closed in 1998, she relocated to Texas and turned her focus to the arts.

Investments in culture and health initiatives

Alice Walton played a key role in establishing the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, an institution that spans 120 acres and houses works by renowned artists like Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe. The museum opened in 2011, largely funded by trusts named after her late brother John Walton and mother Helen Walton.

Her philanthropic contributions have also grown over the past decade. Walton has funneled more than $5.8 billion into five family foundations, which together have distributed an estimated $1.7 billion to various causes. This includes $400 million channeled through the Walton Family Foundation to initiatives related to education, environmental efforts, and regional development around Bentonville. Another significant arm of her philanthropy, the Art Bridges Foundation, has provided over $500 million in funding to acquire and lend American artworks to more than 230 museums across the United States, including the MoMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

A medical school with a unique vision

In August 2024, her foundation announced a $249 million gift to support the establishment of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville. The school aims to blend medical education with the arts and humanities, focusing on whole health principles. The institution is set to welcome its first class of 48 students in July 2025.

“I want to create opportunities that help people and communities achieve their dreams. It is the joy of my life, and a privilege to do so,” Walton says, in a statement shared on her foundation’s website.