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Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. -
Walton was a good student and athlete in high school. He graduated from David H. Hickman High School in 1936. -
Walton joined the military at the age of 25. -
Walton married Helen Robson. -
Walton ended his military service. He later on used a $25,000 loan from his father-in-law to acquire his first store. This was a Ben Franklin Franchise in Newport, Arkansas. -
(This was between 1946 and 1976) Walton had worked with his younger brother and came to own 15 Ben Franklin stores within the next decade. But he became frustrated with the management of the chain, so he struck down. In 1976, Walton closed all of the stores. -
Walton had opened the very first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas. -
By 1976, Walmart was a publicly traded company with a share value worth of $176 million. -
Walton closed all of the Ben Franklin stores, since Walmart was so successful -
The grand opening of the 296th store. This was in Dardanelle, Arkansas. -
The first Sam's Club store opened in 1983. -
Sam Walton was named the richest man in America. His net worth was 8.6 billion. (In 2023 this would be 240.6 billion.) -
Walmart has grown to 1528 stores, including 123 Sam's Clubs. Annual sales increase to nearly $26 billion. -
Walmart is now the number one retailer in the nation, with annual sales of $32.6 billion. -
Walmart becomes a global company. First store outside of the US was in Mexico. -
Sam Walton passed away. -
Walmart has grown into the world's largest company. -
Walmart is still the largest retail store company and as of January 19, 2023, it has a net worth of $379.82 billion.