The fortune of the heiress of the American distribution giant is estimated at 89 billion dollars.
A game of musical chairs at the top of the ranking of the richest women on the planet. Alice Walton, 74, the daughter of the founder of Walmart stores in the United States, steals the crown of richest woman on the planet from Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, heiress to the founder of L’Oréal.
According to Forbes magazine, his fortune is estimated at $89.1 billion, just under $5 billion more than the French woman, whose assets are estimated at $84.4 billion.
Alice Walton now ranks 21st in the global ranking of the world’s richest people, according to Forbes’ real-time ranking, two places behind her brother Rob Walton.
Walmart stock jumps
Alice Walton began her career as an equity analyst and fund manager for First Commerce Corporation and later founded and ran the investment bank Llama Company.
After briefly working at Walmart as a buyer of children’s clothing, she devoted herself almost exclusively to art, notably chairing the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, the Walton family’s hometown.
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Her rise to first place is explained by the price of Walmart shares, which have jumped this year, from $53 in January to $77 on September 10. At the same time, L’Oréal shares have plummeted by 15%, from 443 to 378 euros. However, the fortunes of these two women are mainly based on the number of shares they hold in the companies to which they are heirs.
In 2024, with inflation, the American supermarket chain has once again taken advantage of its reputation as a cheap distributor to increase its sales. For its part, the cosmetics giant L’Oréal announced a net profit in the first half of the year up 8.8% year-on-year to 3.65 billion euros and a turnover of 22.12 billion euros (+7.5%). despite a “declining” Chinese market.
Olivier Chicheportiche BFM Business journalist
