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© History Oasis / Created via Midjourney
Sam Walton revolutionized American retail by building Walmart from a single Arkansas discount store into the world’s largest corporation.
This is his story.
Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, on March 29, 1918.
His father, Thomas Gibson Walton, went from banking to a broker of farm mortgages during the Great Depression.
Earliest Ventures
As a boy, Sam milked the family cow each morning and sold it to neighbors. After school, he delivered newspapers. On weekends, he sold magazine subscriptions to skeptical housewives.
At thirteen, while living in Shelbina, Missouri, he became the youngest Eagle Scout in Missouri’s history.
In 1936, his classmates at David H. Hickman High School voted him “Most Versatile Boy” — where he played quarterback, ran track, and still found time to lead the student council.
College
When Sam went to college at the University of Missouri, he waited tables and washed dishes to survive.
He also became the student body president, an economics major, and a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and the QEBH secret society.
When he graduated with his economics degree in 1940, he had empty pockets but dreamed of making a mark on the world.
Sam Walton joined J.C. Penney in 1940, with a monthly salary of $75.
An executive threatened to fire him for his messy handwriting, sparing him only because “you’re such a good salesman.”
Helen Robson
He married Helen Robson on Valentine’s Day 1943, who had family connections that would prove vital to his future business success.
Army
From 1942 to 1945, Walton served as an Army Intelligence Corps captain.
The military taught him logistics and leadership while allowing him to save $5,000.
Sam Walton bought his first Ben Franklin store in Newport, Arkansas, on September 1, 1945.
It cost $25,000—$5,000 from his savings plus $20,000 borrowed from his father-in-law, Leland Robson.
Over five years, Walton’s annual sales climbed from $80,000 to $225,000, making it the top Ben Franklin franchise in six states.
He used competitive pricing, extensive product selection, and strategic merchandising to beat the competition.
In 1950, his landlord, P.K. Holmes, refused to renew Walton’s lease, taking the profitable location for his son.
Walton received $50,000 for his inventory and fixtures—what he called “a fair price”—but lost the business he had built.
Sam Walton relocated to Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1950.
On May 9, he opened Walton’s Five and Dime, securing the location only after his father-in-law secretly paid $20,000 to obtain the adjacent lease that had been refused six times.
In the early 1950s, Walton purchased a second-hand airplane to scout store locations from the air.
Walton became a good pilot, logging 230,000 miles annually to identify markets across Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas.
The aerial approach accelerated growth.
In 1954, Walton opened a Kansas City store with his brother Bud.
By 1960, the Walton brothers operated 15 stores, generating $1.4 million in combined sales, making their chain the largest independent variety store chain in America.
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart on July 2, 1962, at 719 West Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas.
The discount store concept worked so well that by 1970, Walton operated 32 stores, generating $31 million in annual sales, and took the company public at $16.50 per share.
Walmart began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT.
$1 Billion
By 1980, Walmart became the fastest retailer to reach $1 billion in annual sales.
Sam Walton exploded Walmart’s growth via aggressive expansion and technological innovation.
Sam’s Club
In 1983, he opened the first Sam’s Club warehouse store in Midwest City, Oklahoma, admitting he “borrowed” the concept from Sol Price’s FedMart.
The next year, Walton danced the hula on Wall Street wearing a grass skirt after losing a bet when Walmart achieved 8% pretax profit—a target he thought impossible.
America’s Richest Man
Forbes crowned Walton America’s richest person in 1985.
Walmart installed the nation’s largest private satellite communication system, revolutionizing inventory management and real-time data across stores.
Stepping Down
Walton stepped down as CEO in 1988 at age 70 but maintained control as chairman.
Sam Walton faced bone cancer from 1990 until his death.
Despite his illness, he continued working, reviewing store sales data from his hospital bed.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
On March 17, 1992, President George H.W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
Death
Eighteen days later, on April 5, 1992, Sam Walton died at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Hospital.
He was 74.
At his death, there were 1,735 Walmart stores and 212 Sam’s Clubs.
They employed 400,000 workers and generated $50 billion in annual sales—making Walmart the largest U.S. retailer.
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