Area is Rich in Opportunities

This week’s Business Journal features a picture of $1 million — pg 29. That’s really $1 million in cash.

Now imagine 93,000 piles like that one. That’s how much money the No. 1 family on this year’s list of the Wealthiest Arkansans — Helen Walton of Bentonville and her children — is worth. Actually, they’re probably worth quite a bit more, but our figures are very conservative estimates based largely on public stock holdings and other criteria (See explanation, p. 21).

The photo was taken the week of Nov. 19 at a Northwest Arkansas bank, the name of which we agreed to keep anonymous for security reasons. Most banks in the area have this kind of cash on hand at least once per week, however, and that’s exactly why our annual Wealthiest Arkansans’ issue causes such a fuss in the local business community.

Everyone knows the money is here. And everyone wants a piece of it.

Thanks to trailblazers like John Tyson Sr., J.B. Hunt, Sam and Bud Walton, M.H. “Bill” Simmons, Harvey Jones, Red Hudson and C.L. George, these hills are filled with as many opportunities as autumn leaves.

If you’re not on our Wealthiest Arkansans list, you may be working to get there. And the local people who are enjoying the fruits of their labor today, are the reason why you have a chance to make it, too.