Alice Walton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alice Walton
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Walton in 2021
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Alice Louise Walton
October 7, 1949 Newport, Arkansas, U.S.
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| Education | Trinity University (BA) |
| Known for | Heiress, Walton family fortune |
| Political party | Independent |
| Board member of | Amon Carter Museum of American Art |
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Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949) is an American businesswoman and art collector. She is the daughter of Sam Walton, who founded the well-known store Walmart. As of November 2023, Alice Walton is one of the richest women in the world.
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Early Life and School
Alice Walton was born in Newport, Arkansas. She grew up in Bentonville, Arkansas, with her three brothers. She finished high school in Bentonville in 1966. Later, she went to Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She earned a degree in economics there.
Career and Business
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Early in her career, Alice Walton worked in finance. She was an equity analyst, which means she studied companies to help people decide where to invest their money. She also managed money for others at First Commerce Corporation and Arvest Bank Group. She worked as a broker for EF Hutton.
In 1988, Alice Walton started her own investment bank called Llama Company. An investment bank helps businesses and governments raise money. She was the president, chairwoman, and CEO of her company.
Alice Walton was also the first person to lead the Northwest Arkansas Council. She played a big part in building the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. This airport opened in 1998. Business leaders in the area needed a new airport. Alice Walton gave $15 million to help start the building. Her company, Llama Company, also helped with a large bond of $79.5 million. Because of her help, the airport's main building is named the Alice L. Walton Terminal Building. In 2001, she was honored in the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.
Llama Company closed in 1998. Her father, Sam Walton, once said that Alice was "the most like me—a maverick." This means she was very independent and liked to do things her own way.
Love for Art
Alice Walton has a strong passion for art. She and her mother used to paint watercolors when they went camping. Her first important art purchase was two watercolor paintings by Winslow Homer in the late 1980s.
She has bought many famous artworks. In 2005, she bought a painting called Kindred Spirits for about $35 million. This painting, from 1849, honors another artist named Thomas Cole. She also bought works by American painters like Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper. She even bought a special portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale. In 2009, she bought Norman Rockwell's famous painting "Rosie the Riveter" for $4.9 million.
Alice Walton's love for art led her family's foundation to create the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. This museum is in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum was designed by architect Moshe Safdie. It is a large museum, about 200,000 square feet, built on 120 acres of land owned by the Walton family.
Crystal Bridges opened in 2011. It has been visited over 5 million times by 2021. It is free for everyone to visit. Alice Walton wanted to create the museum so that more people could see and enjoy great art.
Giving Back
Alice Walton is also known for her generous giving, called philanthropy.
In 2016, she gave $225 million to the Walton Family Holdings Trust. This trust helps fund the family's charitable work.
Alice L. Walton Foundation
In 2017, Alice Walton started the Alice L. Walton Foundation. This foundation supports arts, education, health, and helps create better economic chances for people.
- In 2020, the foundation gave $3 million to the University of Central Arkansas for its fine arts program.
- That same year, it gave $1.28 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. This money helped expand a program that provides healthy food in schools.
- In 2022, Walton's foundation gave $3.5 million to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. This helped build a food distribution center and buy food for people in need.
Art Bridges Foundation
Also in 2017, Alice Walton created the Art Bridges Foundation. This foundation works with smaller museums that might not have many art resources. Art Bridges provides money, loans art from its collection, and creates traveling exhibits. Alice Walton's goal is to make sure more art is seen by the public instead of being kept in storage.
By September 2021, the foundation had about 30 art exhibits traveling across the United States. The Art Bridges Fellows Program helps people from diverse backgrounds work with museums. Alice Walton has also given $10 million to the Crystal Bridges Museum. She has partnered with the Ford Foundation to help improve diversity in art leadership roles.
Healthcare
In 2019, Alice Walton started the Whole Health Institute. This institute works to make "holistic healthcare" more available. Holistic healthcare looks at a person's overall well-being, not just their physical health.
In 2021, she announced that the institute would build a new medical school in Bentonville. It will be called the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. This school will train doctors and focus on a broad approach to health. Construction is planned to start in 2023, with the first students starting in 2025.
In 2021, her foundation also worked with the Cleveland Clinic to study healthcare in Northwest Arkansas. Following this, in 2022, the foundation and Washington Regional Medical System announced plans for a new medical system. This system will train doctors in special fields like cancer care (oncology) and heart care (cardiology).
Personal Life
Alice Walton is a big horse lover. She used to own a ranch in Millsap, Texas, called Walton's Rocking W Ranch. She was known for being able to spot young horses that would become champions in a sport called "cutting." In 2015, she sold her ranch and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, to focus more on the Crystal Bridges Museum. In 2020, she moved back to Bentonville.
Recognition
- Time magazine most influential people in the world, 2012
- Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art Medal, 2013
- International Women's Forum hall of fame inductee, 2018
- J. Paul Getty Medal, 2020
Images for kids
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Walton in 2021
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Walton at the 2011 Walmart Shareholders meeting
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Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
See also
In Spanish: Alice Walton para niños
