Alice Walton, the world’s richest woman, got $33 billion richer in one year while building a tuition-free medical school.
Between March 2025 and March 2026, the Walmart heiress’ net worth jumped by $33 billion, according to Forbes data cited by Fortune.
Walton, 76, is the youngest child of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Unlike her brothers, Rob and Jim Walton, she has not been involved in running the retail giant in recent years, and does not even sit on Walmart’s board.
Instead, Walton has turned much of her attention to medicine and philanthropy. In 2021, she founded the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas, her hometown and the headquarters of Walmart, and donated $250 million to fund the school.
The four-year medical program welcomed its inaugural class of 48 students in 2025. The school is waiving tuition for its first five graduating classes, although students are still responsible for fees and living expenses.
“The real problem with health care is that there’s no incentive in the payment system for doctors to spend time helping you learn what good nutrition is, how important exercise is,” she told PBS NewsHour in January. “And, frankly, doctors aren’t taught those things because they’re not paid for those things.”
The school added its second cohort this fall, bringing enrollment to 96 students, Talk Business & Politics reported last week. The first cohort of students will graduate in 2029.
The medical school is part of Walton’s push to expand health care in Bentonville and beyond.
Her foundation has committed $350 million to a planned health campus in Bentonville being developed with Mercy and Cleveland Clinic. The project is expected to include a 250-bed hospital and cancer center, while a specialty care center focused on cardiac services is expected to open in 2029.
Walton has also invested heavily in the arts. She helped establish Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, which opened in 2011 and houses a collection of American art.
Still, her enormous fortune remains closely tied to the company her father founded.
The Walton family is one of Walmart’s largest shareholders, so the value of its holdings can rise or fall with the retailer’s stock price. Walton does not run Walmart and has not held an executive role at the company in recent years.
Walmart shares gained more than 10 percent during that period, according to Forbes.
The Independent has contacted the Alice L. Walton Foundation for comment.
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