Walmart heir Jim Walton donates $1.2B of his fortune, report says

Walmart heir Jim Walton is giving away more than $1 billion of his fortune, joining other billionaires who recently announced they were giving a portion of their wealth to philanthropy.

Walton, the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, donated $1.2 billion worth of the retail giant’s shares, according to a June 27 regulatory filing reported by Bloomberg. It’s unclear where the money went, but the family has been known to give money to the Walton Family Foundation, which supports several organizations focused on helping education and the environment.

Walton has a net worth of $50.9 billion, Forbes reported. His older brother, Rob Walton who has a net worth of $49.8 billion, also donated $15 million worth of his Walmart shares last week, a separate filing revealed.

Jim Walton donated $1.2 billion worth of his Walmart shares. (Getty Images)

The Waltons joined two other billionaires who recently announced they will donate a large chunk of their fortune.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
WMT WALMART INC. 88.39 +1.21 +1.39%
BRK.A BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 707,250.00 +3,950.01 +0.56%

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett said Monday he will convert 11,250 of his Class A shares into nearly 17 million Class B shares, which amount to about $3.6 billion. The billionaire added he will be giving the money to five foundations — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.

“Mr. Buffett has never sold any shares of Berkshire. With the current gift, however, about 45 percent of his 2006 holdings have been given to the five foundations. Their value at the time of the gifts, including the 2019 gift, totals about $34 billion,” a news release posted on Berkshire Hathaway’s website stated.

Buffett said he plans to give all of his shares to philanthropy within 10 years of his estate being settled, following his 2006 pledge to give away all his fortune.

Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over the weekend he plans to donate the majority of his fortune to philanthropic causes while he’s still alive. He also said he plans to support President Trump for re-election in 2020.

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“I want to live to be 100 because I want to be in a position to give it away to those things that I really believe in,” Marcus told the newspaper. “I’ve got all the houses I need. I live very well. My kids are taken care of. Everything I live for now is finding the right things to put my money into and that can give me a rate of return in emotion and doing good things for this world.”