Christy Walton

Christy Ruth Walton (née Tallant; born February 8, 1949) is an American billionaire heiress and philanthropist. She is the widow of John T. Walton, who was one of the sons of the Walmart founder Sam Walton.

In June 2005, her husband died in a homebuilt ultralight plane crash, making her the main heir to his fortune of US$18.2 billion. Forbes listed Christy Walton as the richest woman in the world for several years. Her net worth was estimated to $41.7 billion in March 2015, the bulk of which came from her shares in Walmart, but also from First Solar, in which her husband had invested. In November 2015, an analysis of court documents by Bloomberg revealed that the bulk of her husband's wealth had been transferred to her son, Lukas Walton, resulting in an estimated net worth of approximately US$5 billion.