Luxury galore! How does Alice Walton spend $135 billion? Inside the lifestyle of the world's richest woman

Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, is the richest woman in the world, boasting a net worth of about $135 billion. Her wealth has grown since last year, mainly due to a surge in Walmart’s share price, according to a report by Business Insider.

The 77-year-old Walton's wealth increased by an estimated $33 billion over the 12 months leading up to March, as Walmart's shares climbed 30%, according to Forbes. She ranked as the world's 14th-richest person.

Let's have a look at how the 77-year-old heiress spends her fortune.

Though the Walton family is largely quite private, it is known that Alice Walton spends her fortune on things ranging from expensive art to building a medical school.

Alice Walton developed an interest in art at an early age. According to a profile in The New Yorker, she bought her first artwork at the age of 10, spending $2 on a reproduction of a Pablo Picasso painting.

After graduating from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1971, she briefly worked at Walmart as a children's clothing buyer. However, she later moved into finance and founded Llama Company, an investment bank, in 1988.

Walton, who has been married and divorced twice and has no children, has described art collecting as an important part of her life. In a 2011 interview with The New Yorker, she said collecting art had brought her immense joy.

Her passion led to the establishment of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered. Before the museum opened, its endowment was four times that of New York's Whitney Museum, according to The New Yorker. Walton also purchased Georgia O'Keeffe's painting Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 for $44.4 million in 2014, then a record price for an artwork by a female artist. She later displayed it at Crystal Bridges.

The museum's expansion increased its footprint by 50%, according to a press release.

Over $6 billion towards philanthropy

Walton has also directed a significant portion of her wealth towards charitable causes. She has contributed more than $6 billion to five family charitable foundations, which had distributed an estimated $2 billion of her contributions by 2024, Forbes reported.

In 2017, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation donated $120 million to the University of Arkansas to establish its School of Art. She also runs the Alice L. Walton Foundation, which supports initiatives in art, education and healthcare.

Investing in healthcare and education

Walton has expanded her philanthropic work into healthcare and medical education. The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine welcomed its first batch of 48 students in 2025 and admitted another 48 students in 2026. Tuition has been waived for these students and is expected to remain free for the next three batches. The institution aims to prepare doctors to serve medically underserved and rural communities.

Separately, the Alice L. Walton Foundation and Mercy are developing a healthcare campus in Bentonville. Its first building, a 709,000-square-foot speciality care centre, is expected to open in 2029.

Walton is also supporting plans for a STEM-focused university in Bentonville alongside other members of the Walton family. The institution is scheduled to welcome its first students in 2029, with tuition waivers planned for its initial batches.

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