Walton family loses $27 bn in wipeout after Walmart cuts profit outlook

The Walton family fortune tumbled almost $US19 billion ($27 billion) on Tuesday after Walmart slashed its profit outlook.

Walmart, controlled by the family, fell 11 per cent in New York trading after the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company reported earnings that lagged analysts’ estimates. Soaring inflation heaped pressure on the retailing giant’s profit margins in the first quarter, testing the company’s appetite to raise prices.

The family’s late patriarch, Sam Walton, centred the business on a discount ethos that has in the past helped buoy its stock during recessionary times. Walton’s three surviving children, Alice, Jim and Rob, daughter-in-law Christy and Christy’s son, Lukas, own just under half the retailer. That gives them a combined net worth of about $US214 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 

The family, which owns its stake through various trusts, has stepped up its stock sales in recent years. It unloaded $US6.2 billion in shares last year, which the company has said is part of a strategy to keep the family’s stake under 50 per cent amid buybacks.

Those disposals have helped the Waltons accumulate significant wealth outside their Walmart stake.