After the shares of Walmart declined by as much as 8 per cent even as the company cut its forecast on earnings, the Walton family lost $11.4 billion on Tuesday. According to Forbes, the Waltons are the richest family in America due to their stake in Walmart.
Walmart said higher prices for food and fuel are prompting consumers to cut back, and it had to cut prices at its stores to reduce excess inventory. The retail giant also said its profit will decline due to rising inflation, and its adjusted earnings per share will also fall by as much as 13 per cent this year. Following this, its shares declined 7.6 per cent in the US, pulling down the valuation of the Walton family by as much as $11.4 billion.
According to the Forbes’ website, about half of Walmart’s stock is held by seven heirs of founders late Sam Walton and his brother late James “Bud”. Heirs include Sam’s three living children — Rob, Jim and Alice — his daughter-in-law Christy and her son Lukas, plus Bud’s two daughters, Ann and Nancy. Rob Walton served as chairman for more than two decades and remains on the board, alongside current chairman Greg Penner, his son-in-law.
The family also owns Arvest Bank, which operates 16 banks in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas in the US.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Rob, Jim, Alice, Christy and Lukas have a combined net worth of about $199.3 billion, which is about 11 per cent lower since the first of the year.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Walton family, which owns its Walmart stake through various trusts, has accelerated its share sales in recent years and last year sold about $6.2 billion worth of shares. This, according to Walmart, is part of a strategy to keep the family’s stake under 50 per cent amid buybacks.
Apart from Walmart, Canadian e-commerce firm Shopify also witnessed a fall of 14 per cent on Tuesday after its Chief Executive Officer Tobi Lutke acknowledged the company’s decision to expand rapidly coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic did not pay off. The company also said it plans to reduce about 10 per cent of its workforce.
The decline in its shares hit Lutke’s net worth and wiped off $383 million, dropping the 41-year-old co-founder’s fortune to about $3.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg index.
Walmart shares after falling 7.6 per cent on Tuesday stood at $121.98 apiece, while the scrip of Shopify declined 14.06 per cent on Tuesday to close at $31.55 apiece on the NYSE.
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