How Rich are the Waltons?

ADVISORY: Students, Teachers March From Closing Chicago School to Walmart Site

May 13, 2013 By Cathy

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR

Tuesday, May 14^th 2013

CONTACT

Nick Sifuentes, 310-866-1692, nick@berlinrosen.com

Students, Teachers, Education Advocates March From Closing School to Walmart Site

Marchers to Call Out Walton Family for Undermining Chicago Public School System

Majority of Chicago School Closures In Communities of Color, Low-Income Neighborhoods

Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, May 14^th, over a hundred students, teachers, community leaders, education advocates and their supporters will march from Overton Elementary School (221 E. 49^th St.) to a nearby construction site for a new Walmart store at 4701 S. Cottage Grove Ave. to protest the Walton family’s efforts to undermine Chicago’s public schools.

Marchers will gather at Overton Elementary School and proceed to the Walmart construction site, where they will hold a rally led by the Chicago Teachers’ Union. There, they will call on the Walton family to stop funding efforts to close Chicago’s public schools.

The Walton family, the richest family in America and heirs to the Walmart fortune, have given millions of dollars to initiatives which strip money from public schools, including nearly half a million dollars in support of Chicago Public Schools’ proposed school closures. Meanwhile, in 2012, the family spent $3.8 million—more money than they spent in any other city—opening new charter schools. The vast majority of the schools closing in Chicago serve low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, leaving many of these areas without local schools.

Walmart has eight stores in Chicago and two more under construction. Walmart workers earn low wages and benefits and often lack access to affordable, quality healthcare. Meanwhile, warehouse workers who supply Walmart goods have called on Walmart to require its contractors to guarantee safe workplaces and fair treatment. In addition, the company is notorious for finding ways to finance its operations on the backs of taxpayers; to help build new stores in Chicago, Walmart is leaning on a tax scheme that diverts money to developers and away from schools and other critical services.

WHO: Students, teachers, community leaders, local residents and education advocates

WHAT: March from Overton Elementary School to Walmart construction site in Bronzeville

WHEN: Overton Elementary: 4:00pm, Tuesday, May 14^th, 2013

Walmart site: 4:30pm, Tuesday, May 14^th, 2013

WHERE: Overton Elementary School, 221 E. 49^th St., to a nearby construction site for a new Walmart store at 4701 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publically commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.

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Filed Under: Distorting Democracy, How Rich are the Waltons?, Undermining Public Education, Updates

At $115.7 billion, the Walton family remains the face of the 1% in America

March 7, 2013 By Grace 2 Comments

This week, Forbes released its annual billionaires issue. Predictably, the Waltons, whose wealth is derived almost exclusively from their holdings in Walmart, rank among the richest people on the planet. Six of them appear on the Forbes Billionaires list, and they are collectively worth $115.7 billion. Sam Walton’s heirs rank among the top 20 richest people on the planet and his brother Bud’s children are further down the list—but still miles above the rest of us:

#11: Christy Walton, $28.2b
#14: Jim Walton, $26.7b
#16: Alice Walton, $26.3b
#17: Rob Walton, $26.1b
#276: Ann Walton Kroenke, $4.5b
#346: Nancy Walton Laurie, $3.9b

While the media slices and dices the list (Christy and Alice are the richest women in the U.S.; Alice is among the list’s divorced billionaires), it’s hard to understand what all that money really means.

The contrast between average Americans and the Waltons is starkest at the very company almost all of the Waltons’ wealth comes from, Walmart. The average Walmart worker makes $8.81 an hour. At that rate, it would take a Walmart Associate working Wamart’s definition of full-time more than 7 million years to earn as much wealth as the Walton family has.

To put it another way, the Waltons’ wealth is greater than each of the following, according to a post on Mother Jones: the amount spent by the federal government last year on food stamps, the entire 2012 budget of the state of California, and the combined 2012 budget shortfalls of all fifty states.

Christy Walton is the richest Walton and the richest woman in America. Her wealth of $28.2 billion could cover childcare costs for more than 3.6 million kids this year.[1] Alternatively, it could put over 300,000 kids through four years of college.[2]

These figures might seem farfetched, but really, it’s because the Waltons are the face of inequality in America (in case you needed another Forbes list to prove it).

[1] Based on 2010 average cost of child care center program for four-year-olds, available here.

[2] Based on in-state tuition figures, available here.

Filed Under: How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates Tagged With: Forbes Billionaires, income inequality, inequality, walmart, Walton family

Waltons Give Themselves Huge Raise. Pass the Bill to Workers, Taxpayers

February 22, 2013 By jway

The Waltons, the richest family in the United States, and the owners of nearly half of all Walmart stock, just announced they’ve given themselves a raise of $436 million dollars. The Board of Directors, which includes three members of the Walton family, just voted to increase the annual dividend by 18% over the previous fiscal year. As a result, the Waltons’ Walmart dividends alone in FY14 will top $3 billion.

According to the latest numbers from Forbes, the Walton family is now worth more than $115 billion. We’ve written previously about how the Walton family has more wealth than the bottom 42% of American families combined. And, they just keep getting richer.

Meanwhile, Walmart workers are living in poverty – a full-time worker reportedly averages just $15,500/year. And the Huffington Post revealed recently that Walmart associates face strict caps on annual raises for good performance. For the average employee making $8.81 an hour, the best possible raise for “role model” performance under Walmart’s rules amounts to less than 7%–nowhere near the Waltons’ 18% this year. (There are four performance levels below this top rating.)

While the Waltons pile their stacks of money higher, the American taxpayer subsidizes Walmart’s low-wages and poor benefits. In many states across the country, Walmart is the employer with the largest number of employees and dependents using taxpayer-funded health insurance programs.

In Massachusetts, in 2009, taxpayers paid $8.8 million for Walmart associates to use publicly subsidized healthcare services.

In addition, a 2007 study found that, as of that date, Walmart had received more than $1.2 billion in tax breaks, free land, infrastructure assistance, low-cost financing and outright grants from state and local governments around the country. This number has surely increased as Walmart continues to receive additional subsidies.

Filed Under: How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates

Top 12 Walmart 1% Moments of 2012

December 19, 2012 By Grace 5 Comments

This year, thousands of activists stood up to the Walmart 1% across the country. It was a busy year for the one percent—and for the rest of us. There was the news of alleged bribery and corruption in Mexico, Walmart leaving ALEC under pressure from the public (here’s hoping the Walton Family Foundation follows their lead next year), forced labor at Walmart suppliers, warehouse worker strikes, and a Black Friday to remember when Walmart associates went on strike over the company’s retaliation and attempts to silence those who spoke out for improvements on the job.

Click through to take a look at some of what we accomplished, and come back in the new year, because 2013 is going to be even bigger! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dismantling Middle Class Jobs, Distorting Democracy, How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates Tagged With: arne sorenson, board of directors, Greg Penner, marissa mayer, Michele Burns, mike duke, rob walton, warehouse workers, wealth

From the Kroenke real estate files: Stan’s new ranch

December 6, 2012 By Cathy

Walmart 1%-er Stan Kroenke just made his enormous property portfolio even bigger: Last week, he finalized the purchase of Broken O Ranch, a 124,000-acre ranch in northwestern Montana that Forbes called “one of the largest agricultural operations in the Rocky Mountain West.” The purchase price hasn’t been disclosed, but Kroenke is believed to have paid around $90 million for the land, the ranch business, and the 10,000-square-foot ranch house (with an indoor pool!). The ranch is rich in natural resources, too; a couple years ago, the ranch and energy companies entered into oil and gas lease agreements.

With the purchase, Kroenke now reportedly controls 864,000 acres of land—land area roughly equal to four and a half times the size of New York City or three times the size of Los Angeles—and is the eighth-largest landowner in the country.

Pity Stan Kroenke’s relatives and friends who are trying to figure out what to give him for Christmas—seriously, what do you get the man who already has six sports teams, five ranches , an estimated net worth of $4 billion, three vineyards, and at least three homes? Maybe some “Keep Out” signs for his Douglas Lake Ranch in Canada, where local fishermen are angry that Kroenke’s operation has blocked off a publicly-owned road leading to a publicly-owned prime fishing lake?

(Stan, we will be sending you two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree—watch your mailbox!)

P.S. – When Stan Kroenke and Ann Walton Kroenke made the “most expensive real estate purchase of 2011” in Aspen, Colorado ($20.75 million), we noted that the average Walmart associate making $8.81 an hour would have to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 269 years to make enough money to purchase that property. For those keeping score at home, if Kroenke paid $90 million for his new ranch, that’s as much money as the average Walmart associate would have accumulated after working round the clock for 1,166 years.

Filed Under: How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates Tagged With: stan kroenke, wealth

Walmart helps keep Waltons from falling off fiscal cliff

November 19, 2012 By Grace Leave a Comment

On Monday, Walmart announced that it is moving up the payment date on its next quarterly dividends to shareholders from early 2013 to the tail end of 2012, citing concerns about the fiscal cliff. The New York Times reports that many business owners and investors are maneuvering to avoid higher taxes next year, and Reuters points out that Walmart is the biggest company so far to move its planned dividends earlier.

Walmart has the distinction of being partially owned by the country’s wealthiest family—the Waltons—who are set to receive over $2.7 billion in dividends from the company this year alone. Three members of the Walton family sit on the company’s board of directors: chairman Rob Walton; his brother, Jim Walton; and his son-in-law, Greg Penner. Their family owns about half of Walmart, and as the company’s largest shareholders, they’re also the ones with the most to gain (or taxes to avoid paying) from the dividend schedule change. Next month, the Waltons will get an estimated $677,767,820 in dividends.

The 2003 Bush tax cuts applied to capital gains and dividends, and mostly affect high-income taxpayers. Now, Reuters explains, “Without action from Congress, the dividend tax rate will rise to the ordinary income tax rates, as high as 39.6 percent for top earners. Dividends are now taxed at 15 percent for the top four brackets and zero at the bottom.”

Interestingly, Walmart’s move to help shareholders avoid increased taxes comes the week after CEO Mike Duke met with President Obama and other business leaders to discuss a debt deal. After the meeting, Duke issued a statement calling on lawmakers to work together on an approach to avoid the fiscal cliff including raising additional revenue, among other reforms. Looks none of that revenue will come from additional taxes on Walmart’s next dividend payout of $1.34 billion.

Filed Under: How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates Tagged With: dividends, mike duke

Election Day 2012 in Review: Grading the Waltons

November 9, 2012 By Cathy Leave a Comment

Members of the Walton family, as we know, are active political donors, using their fortune to back right-wing candidates and causes. This election cycle was no exception. Now that Election Day 2012 is in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at some notable results from contests that the Waltons contributed money to. In recognition of the Waltons’ commitment to corporate-style education reform, we will grade their results and then rate how they did overall. (We’re basing these grades on whether their preferred candidates or issues won, regardless of how noxious the candidates or issues are!)

Benton County alcohol sales: Down in Walmart’s home county, two Walton family members supported—and largely bankrolled—a successful ballot initiative to allow alcohol sales in the county. (Benton County had been dry since 1935.) According to state ethics reports, Steuart and Tom Walton, sons of Walmart director Jim Walton and grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, together contributed $589,000 to the political committee running the effort—89% of the total money raised by the committee. With 47,712 votes in favor of selling alcohol in Benton County, the Walton brothers spent about $12.34 for each yes vote their cause received. Comments: We’ve got nothing against alcohol, but wow, that’s a lot of money for a county-level election. We wonder what else that money could have been used for.

Indiana state superintendent’s race: Back in July, Alice Walton sent a $200,000 check to Tony “Not That Tony Bennett” Bennett, who ran for re-election as the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. Bennett, a Republican, is a corporate education reformer known for his work to create the country’s largest school voucher program. He’s also a supporter of high-stakes testing and merit pay for teachers linked to student test scores. Though Bennett was an incumbent and had a 5-to-1 fundraising advantage, his opponent, teacher Glenda Ritz, scored a surprise upset against him through grassroots organizing among teachers who wanted to see an end to Bennett’s policies. Comments: Citizens were more powerful than money in this race.

Charter school amendments: Alice Walton contributed $600,000 in support of a constitutional amendment in Georgia allowing the establishment of charter schools. The measure passed. Across the country in Washington, the result of a charter school initiative is still too close to call. Alice Walton gave $1.7 million in favor of the initiative, which was nicknamed “the billionaires’ initiative” because of massive financial support from Walton and other colossally wealthy donors like Bill Gates. This is the fourth time that a charter school initiative has been on the ballot in Washington; all of the previous initiatives failed including the one in 2004, to which Alice’s late brother, John, gave $1.02 million. Comments: In Georgia; the initiative passed easily. We have yet to see what happens in Washington.

Montana Senate race: Denny Rehberg and incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester faced off in a hotly contested race for Senate in Montana. Tester’s seat had been targeted by Republicans as one they hoped to turn from blue to red this year, and Rob and Melani Walton each threw $2,500 behind Rehberg, who has a dismal record on employment discrimination and supported Arizona’s controversial immigration law. But around 9 am on Wednesday morning the Associated Press called the race in favor of Senator Tester. Comments: The Democrats still control the Senate, and the Waltons’ money didn’t tip the scales in this race.

Presidential race: Well, you might have heard by now that Mitt Romney lost (we hear that news has been making the rounds). The Waltons gave Romney and Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney Super PAC, a total of $415,000 this election cycle.[1] Comments: Fortunately for the Waltons, that’s a mere 0.00036% of their family’s estimated $115 billion net worth.

On the five races here that have been officially decided, the Waltons’ side came out victorious in just two. Looks like the Waltons are finishing this election cycle with a 40% win rate. Would a grade like that pass muster with the high-stakes testing proponents, or would the Waltons get shut down for failing?

[1] Data from OpenSecrets.org. Alice Walton gave $2,500 to Romney and $200,000 to Restore Our Future, Jim Walton gave $5,000 to Romney and $200,000 to Restore Our Future, Jim’s wife Lynne Walton gave $5,000, and Jim’s son Steuart Walton gave $2,500.

Filed Under: Distorting Democracy, How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates

Solyndra Ruling: Taxpayers Get Hit, Walton Family Gets Tax Breaks

October 23, 2012 By

According to Bloomberg, yesterday’s ruling by a judge overseeing the Solyndra bankruptcy could provide $341 million in tax breaks to two venture capital firms, including Madrone Capital, which acts as an investment arm for the Walton family.

The U.S. government had opposed Solyndra’s bankruptcy plan, arguing that it was improperly designed to provide tax breaks to these private investors, at the expense of smaller creditors and the federal government, which had provided the company with more than $500 million in loan guarantees and subsidies.

When the Fremont, CA-based solar cell company Solyndra declared bankruptcy last September, conservatives attacked the Obama Administration.

But conservative critics have largely ignored the fact that one of Solyndra’s major investors is the Walton-connected Madrone Capital.

Yes, the same Waltons who together own about half of Walmart and have a combined wealth greater than the bottom 42% of the American population. Madrone Capital is run by Walmart Director Greg Penner, a former Walmart executive who is married to Carrie Walton, daughter of Walmart Chairman Rob Walton.

And now it appears that Madrone and the Waltons are going to get bailed out of the Solyndra bankruptcy, while letting the government and other creditors take a big hit.

Hospitality union UNITE HERE explains here that the bankruptcy plan gives Madrone Capital and Argonaut Ventures tax credits worth more than $300 million in exchange for those firms accepting up to $10.2 million in losses.

The plan, if passed, will heavily benefit Madrone and other major investors at the expense of Solyndra’s smaller creditors and the federal government, which will likely recoup only 3 cents and less than 19 cents on the dollar, respectively.

And, as UNITE HERE makes clear, this is not the way bankruptcies usually work.

Normally when a company goes bankrupt, the investors take the biggest hit, while the firm’s creditors (lenders and companies to whom the company owes money) get first crack at the remaining assets. That’s only fair, because the investors are risking their capital for the chance to profit handsomely if the company does well.

Welcome to Walton World – where rule #1 is: “The Waltons always win” and rule #2 is, “If the Waltons lose, see rule #1.”

Filed Under: How Rich are the Waltons?, Misplaced Priorities, Updates Tagged With: Greg Penner, Madrone Capital, Solyndra, Waltons

A tremendous divide

October 12, 2012 By Grace 1 Comment

This week, Walmart associates in a dozen cities across the country risked several days’ pay to go on strike following the company’s retaliation and attempts to silence their voices.

Also this week, Walmart chair Rob Walton became an estimated $417 million richer and his family’s overall wealth grew by $1.6 billion.

Walmart associates have been coming together to call for change at Walmart for over a year. They’ve asked the company to address issues with scheduling, benefits, wages, and above all, respect in the workplace. But instead of being responsive, Walmart has attempted to silence and intimidate them through unfair disciplinary actions, cut backs in hours, and even firings. Their strike was in response to this retaliation.

While associates were taking this courageous step, Walmart’s stock soared following the news that it would soon offer a prepaid card as an alternative to checking and debit accounts. A soaring stock means good news for the Waltons, who own about half of the company, and it’s how the Waltons’ net worth leapt so incredibly this week.

As news of this strike and future actions continues to spread, it’s impossible not to note the huge gap between Walmart associates and the people they work for. It would take the average Walmart associate almost 27,000 years to make what Rob Walton made from Walmart’s rising share price on Wednesday. And Walmart CEO Mike Duke’s $18.1 million pay last year is 1,167 times the average associate’s pay. CEO pay has become incredibly out of sync with workers’, but Duke’s pay is exceptional. The average CEO-to-worker compensation was 209.4-to-1 in 2011.

As the striking Walmart associates return to work, the company should end its retaliation and consider who makes the profits possible.

Filed Under: Dismantling Middle Class Jobs, How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates Tagged With: executive pay, income inequality, inequality, mike duke, rob walton, Walmart strike, wealth

The Waltons could cover every state’s budget shortfall this year

September 20, 2012 By Grace Leave a Comment

Following the release of this year’s Forbes 400, Josh Harkinson at Mother Jones has a great piece up today putting the Waltons’ wealth in perspective.

The six Waltons on the Forbes list are now worth $115 billion. According to the Mother Jones story, no other American family has ever controlled a 12-figure fortune. Much of the Waltons’ wealth comes from Walmart—they own half the company and three family members sit on the board. While Walmart has been good to the Waltons, Harkinson points out that the average Walmart Associate would have to work at the company for seven million years to make as much money as the Waltons are currently worth.

He also shares the following chart of seemingly astronomical expenses that are dwarfed by the Waltons’ fortune. Something to think about.

Filed Under: Dismantling Middle Class Jobs, How Rich are the Waltons?, Updates Tagged With: Forbes 400, inequality, wealth