Familiar Names On Forbes Billionaires List

Forbes magazine recently published its 30th annual ranking of the world’s billionaires, and if you’re keeping score, Jim Walton, at No. 15, is the highest-ranking person with ties to the state.

Walton, who lives in Bentonville, has a net worth of $33.6 billion, according to Forbes. He is followed on the list by his siblings, Alice Walton ($32.3 billion; No. 16) and Rob Walton ($31.9 billion; No. 17).

Other Arkansans on the list are Warren Stephens ($2.4 billion; No. 324), Johnelle Hunt ($2.1 billion; No. 854) and John Tyson ($1.8 billion; No. 1,011).

Forbes reported there were 1,810 billionaires in the world, with a combined net worth of $6.5 trillion.

Bill Gates remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75 billion, $4.2 billion less than a year ago. He has been No. 1 for three years in a row and topped the list 17 out of 22 years. 

If you’re curious where Christy Walton is on the Forbes list, so were we.

It was less than three years ago that Walton, the catalyst for development of the new Black Apple pocket neighborhood near downtown Bentonville, was hailed by Forbes as the richest woman in the world, with a net worth of $35.4 billion.

So what happened to leave her ranked among the world’s billionaires at No. 258 with a net worth of $5.2 billion? Here’s what the magazine had to say:

“Christy Walton married into what became the richest family in the world: the Waltons, owners of the world’s largest retailer. She inherited her fortune when her husband, John Walton, a former Green Beret and Vietnam War medic, died in an airplane crash in 2005.

“Previously thought to be one of the wealthiest women in the world, Forbes has adjusted our estimate of Christy’s net worth based on previously sealed documents showing that half of John’s estate went to charitable trusts, roughly one-third went to Lukas Walton — Christy and John’s son — and one-sixth was left to Christy.”

In light of that, Lukas Walton, 29, was added by Forbes to the billionaire ranks at No. 99, with a net worth of $10.4 billion.