On Monday, Forbes published its second-ever ranking of America’s Decabillionaire families, featuring 54 multi-generational clans worth at least $10 billion apiece. The richest family in the country by far is the Waltons, whose fortune has nearly doubled since our last list in February 2024, surging by an estimated $253 billion, to $520 billion, as shares of Walmart have skyrocketed. The discount juggernaut became the first brick-and-mortar retailer to boast a $1 trillion market cap in February 2026, and while the stock has since cooled, it’s still more than doubled in the past two-and-a-half years.

The descendants of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based business’ founder Sam Walton (d. 1992) and his brother Bud Walton (d. 1995) are now more than three times as rich as America’s second wealthiest clan, the Kochs of Koch, Inc. (formerly Koch Industries), who are worth an estimated $157 billion. The Waltons' combined wealth is second only to that of Elon Musk, who became the world’s first trillionaire in June and is now worth an estimated $997 billion.

Most of the Waltons’ fortune comes from the nearly 39% stake in Walmart that Forbes estimates is owned through two holding companies by Sam Walton’s three living children–Rob Walton, Jim Walton and Alice Walton–and their families, as well their brother John Walton’s (d. 2005) widow Christy Walton and only child Lukas Walton. That stake was worth $359 billion on June 22, when Forbes locked in this year’s ranking, accounting for nearly four-fifths of the estimated $463 billion net worth of Sam’s side of the Walton family. (And that’s excluding a nearly 6% stake in Walmart, worth $51.3 billion, that Forbes estimates is owned by charitable trusts in the name of John Walton through the same two holding companies.)

The rest of Sam’s side’s fortune is a combination of cash and other investments from Walmart dividends and stock sales over the years, and increasingly sports teams. Rob Walton and his family, for instance, own 94% of the $6.8 billion (enterprise value) Denver Broncos, and Lukas Walton just acquired a minority stake in the Chicago Bulls in June.

Bud Walton’s side of the family, meanwhile, is worth an estimated $57 billion. That includes a nearly 3% stake in Walmart, worth $23.7 billion, that Forbes estimates is owned by Bud’s daughters Nancy Walton Laurie and Ann Walton Kroenke. It also counts the estimated $24.3 billion fortune of Ann’s real estate and sports mogul husband, Stan Kroenke.

Sam Walton’s side of the family would be even richer if, after decades of hanging onto almost all of their Walmart shares, their holding companies hadn’t started selling and gifting large amounts of the retailer’s stock in 2015, in order to fund philanthropy and to keep massive share repurchases by Walmart from pushing the family’s ownership stake (including the stock owned by John Walton’s charitable trusts) above 50%, which would have been worth nearly $470 billion on June 22. Since then, the family’s holding companies have sold Walmart stock worth around $37 billion (before taxes) at the time of the share sales. Meanwhile, the living descendants of Sam Walton have also made charitable contributions worth at least $12.2 billion at the time of the gifts (most of it in Walmart stock) to 15 family........

© Forbes