The Richest Woman in the World: Christy Walton

Christy Walton is the richest woman in the world, so just imagine what possibilities and chances that opens up. What can we learn from her to apply to our own lives?

The question on everyone’s mind is how do people become billionaires? Christy Walton is worth $36.7 billion dollars. She is the widow of John Walton, the son of the co-founder of Wal-Mart.

She also owns stock in First Solar and Arvest Bank. Let’s look at how this busy woman spends her time living as the richest woman in the world. If we want to become rich also, we will have to learn the ways of investing, acquiring or starting companies. Not only that, Christy Walton developed relationships both politically and philanthropically.

Family matters

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What is it like to live in a family that is the richest in the world? Certainly the schedule would be different. You would stay in various homes you own and do a lot of traveling. For people that like routine, it would probably be challenging in fact.

What would you need to travel? A private plane maybe, or a pilot’s license? If you plan to become rich, it’s more likely to happen. Start looking at places where you would like to have a vacation home. Planning is important.

Christy Walton was a homemaker until her husband passed away leaving her a large percentage of ownership of Walmart. She is reported to be living in Jackson, Wyoming. She has only one son named Lukas. She is a part of the richest family in the world and her sister-in-law is the second richest woman in the world. Her father-in-law and his brother started Wal-Mart in 1962.

In just over 50 years, this company has created a family of billionaires. Her son Lukas graduated from a Teton science school called Journey School in 2005.

The man she married was a very adventurous man. He enjoyed scuba diving, skiing, motorcycle riding, skydiving, hiking and flying planes. John Thomas Walton passed away in 2005 in a plane crash of a plane he had made himself. He was from Jackson Wyoming just like Christy.

He had dropped out of college to play flute and started many interesting companies such as a GPS crop dusting company. He had also been a pilot for Wal-Mart and started a technology venture capital company.

He started a sailboat company and both he and Christy became active philanthropists. He founded the Children’s Scholarship Fund which helps low income families send their children to college.

What types of adventures would you like to go on when you’re rich? If you have no motivation to get rich, let’s be honest, it’s probably not going to happen. That’s like trying to get a child to eat vegetables if they’ve only been fed Cheerios, cheese and crackers. It seems like having balance between family life, playing and working is a key part of the puzzle.

Where she lives

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Christy Walton is reported to live in Jackson, Wyoming and her mansion was listed for sale for $12.5 million in the Jackson Hole area in 2013. Why did she choose Wyoming? It is a beautiful part of the country and both her and her husband grew up there. If you look at the home that you want and work towards it, it can happen.

You can achieve anything you put your mind to. It takes logical steps and daily work to get there. If you want to live in a beautiful home and move out of a dirty city, you can. If you want to live in a peaceful home in nature, write it down as your goal and start talking to people about it for ideas on how you need to change your life or structure your time differently.

Film projects

One of the great things about being the richest woman in the world is that you get to work on cool film projects. Many people would like to see what it’s like to work on a passion project.

If this is a dream of yours, start by buying some books to see what type of films inspire you. Then figure out what role you would like to play in the production process. Films are an exciting way to affect cultural trends and the wealthy are able to influence millions of people emotionally and uplift them through these fun yet arduous projects.

Christy Walton has helped produce feature and documentary films that she hopes will be powerful enough to evoke social change. She produced a film called Bless Me, Ultima, which was an adaptation of a book by Rudolfo Anaya. Anaya is probably the best known writer of Chicano literature.

The film is based in New Mexico during WWII. It follows the story of a young man and a medicine woman who helps him grapple with the issues of good and evil during the trying time of war. The movie came out in 2013. This film is a war drama. Christy Walton’s husband had fought in the army during the Vietnam War.

If you want to be rich, you can never stop learning. You can’t just sit there and expect things to happen. You have to read, engage and work. You need to study people that are rich to see how they got where they are. Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself for not being there yet, that will not help anything.

Philanthropy projects

Once you’re rich, your taxes go up. The nice thing about that is that you can find causes that you are emotionally invested in to help with. Start to look for charities you would like to donate to or plan a non-profit you might like to start.

Philanthropy is a great way to give back to the community and be involved both locally and internationally with organizations that are doing good things for the world, keeping the arts alive and helping marginalized people.

According to a report done for the Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, Christy Walton is the most philanthropic woman in the world. This means that she gives the highest percentage of her income away compared to all the other billionaire women. She serves on numerous non-profit organizations.

Let’s look at some of the types of charities Christy Walton likes to donate to. She is an individual donor to The Philanthropy Roundtable which helps philanthropists donate.

International projects

Don’t limit yourself to think in terms of local businesses or non-profits. Most rich people are involved on an international scale in many ways. Start reading about international businesses and events, and attend events on the subjects if you’d like to learn more.

Have a stack of books next to your bed that you read every day to educate yourself about the international business arena and the major players.

Christy Walton donated her San Diego home on 7 acres to the ICF’s (International Community Foundation) Cross Border Philanthropy program which approaches binational issues. The Victorian home was built in 1896 and she donated it in 2006. The home had been renovated in 1989 and originally was home to the postmaster.

She also donated $4 million to preserve the property. The ICF helps donors contribute to healthcare, education and environmental issues in other countries. She has also contributed to the Mingei International Museum.

Educational causes

The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation

Education is the foundation of everything. Without education our country would fall apart. It is our duty as citizens to do our part to contribute to the education system. Sometimes that means sitting on committees and sometimes that means donating money for scholarships.

If you would like to get some experience in the non-profit arena, consider donating some time to an educational non-profit to see how they work and to see how much good they do for children.

Christy Walton supports The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation which focuses on education primarily. In 2006 the Walton Family Foundation gave $1.6 billion in support to colleges, trusts, and Universities like Arkansas University. There is a college at the University named after Sam Walton now.

She was listed as the Emeritus Director of Teton Science Schools which her son Lukas graduated from. Information available is unclear as to whether or not she attended college.

Political contributions

If you plan on becoming rich, start following politics. It will be important to know who the big decision makers are in your city, your state and in the federal government. Eventually, you will be able to help campaigns with your contributions.

Christy Walton has donated to PACs (political action committees) and 85% of them have been republican. She has given to state (such as California and Wisconsin) and federal level action committees and the Wal-Mart political action committee.

Environmental efforts

Even before you’re rich, it’s a great idea to get involved with environmental conservation organizations. National parks and state parks usually have volunteer programs and there are many ways to get involved and meet nice people in the process.

Christy Walton has donated to The San Diego Zoological Society and is a board member of The San Diego Natural History Museum. Her husband and she also helped fund museums and the Brooklyn Zoo.

Privacy and publicity

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Some people enjoy being in the spotlight while others choose to live a more secluded kind of life. It really depends on the personality of the individual and it’s something to consider. Once you become very popular, it’s hard to regain your privacy. There are definitely ways to keep your life private even if you are the richest woman in the world and Christy Walton has done it.

Prior to her status as the world’s richest woman, she did not have a lot of publicity. Now she has been featured in every major business magazine and publication such as Forbes, Bloomberg, and The New York Times, just to name a few.

She received a public recognition for her film by the Imagen Foundation. She is known to be very private, although that must be hard to achieve with the status she has inherited.

Business matters

If you’re ready to get rich, don’t think you don’t have to do your homework first. It takes research, work and more work. Look at all the things Christy Walton has going on in her life. It’s possible to manage everything, but not on your own, you need a team.

This woman has many things going on in her life. It’s not just one company that has made her rich or taken up her time. She has 96% of the shares of her family’s bank Arvest and 47% of shares in First Solar. With the other family members, they own over 50% of Wal-Mart shares and it is reported she will get back 450 million after taxes in 2014.

One could speculate that these business matters must keep this private billionaire very busy. She is not only listed as the richest woman in the US and the world, she is also the 6th richest person in the United States and 9th in the world (keep in mind this changes year to year). Reports say she has been the richest woman in the world for 7 years straight.

It is said she inherited 15 million and has helped maintain steady growth of her companies since 2005. In 2011, Wal-Mart had 8400 stores and was the largest employer in the United States. They are still the largest employer in the country.

It is possible for anyone to follow their dreams; it takes heart and hard work. Let’s look at other strong women as examples to learn from so we can become someone that other women look up to. Decide today to get involved in your community, read more and follow your dreams with an unbreakable will.

Consider the types of businesses you want to get involved with and the education you will need. It’s never too late to go back to school for a masters or a PhD. Consider your options and the costs associated with each.

Make sure to speak with professors and research the types of jobs you can get with each degree so you have a clear understanding of what they will provide for future opportunities. Learn to plan and prepare, stay focused and manage your time.

I hope this sparked some inspiration for you and gets you fired up about following your dreams. Share your comments below and look out for more of my fun articles.

About the author

Shannon Y.

Shannon is a contortionist and yoga teacher that loves to inspire people to lead empowered and healthy lives. She writes practical advice for health and gives real world insights to empower women emotionally.

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