Who?s Got the Clampets Now?
by June 9, 2003 12:00 am 72 views
It would take the four wealthiest people in Los Angeles to equal the fortune of one member of the Walton family of Bentonville. Our esteemed colleagues at the Los Angeles Business Journal just published their list of that city’s richest citizens.
Residential developer Eli Broad rated No. 1 with a paltry personal worth of $5.9 billion. Each living member of the Sam and Helen Walton family — which includes Alice, Jim, John, Robson and Helen Walton — were estimated to be worth $16.5 billion earlier this year by Forbes magazine. Combined, the Waltons’ wealth is untouchable even when spotting Los Angeles the likes of film director Stephen Spielberg (No. 6, $2.2 billion), newspaper fortune heirs David and George Randolf Hearst Jr. (tied No. 20, $1.1 billion each) and Walt Disney nephew Roy E. Disney (No. 27, $850 million).
It was once true that Benton County had more billionaires per capita than Beverly Hills. Now Alice (Texas), John (Wyoming) and Robson Walton (Nevada) all spend more time at out-of-state residences than they do in Bentonville.
But neither that nor Hollywood’s TV spoof of us Ozark hill folk “The Beverly Hillbillies” change the point. When it comes to real money, Benton County makes Beverly Hills look like, well, Washington County.
Don’t forget Don Tyson ($1.2 billion last fall) and J.B. and Johnelle Hunt ($364 million last fall) have residences in Benton County’s southern neighbor.
The Waltons were tied for No. 7 on Forbes list, although their combined $82.5 billion worth would eclipse that magazine’s richest rating — Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates ($40.7 billion).