As one of the most talked-about figures, John Walton has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.

What was John T. Walton's net worth?

John Walton was an American veteran and billionaire who had a net worth of $18 billion at the time of his death. John T. Walton inherited his fortune as the second son of Walmart founderSam Walton. He was also the first investor in what became First Solar, the publicly traded solar energy company. Through his Walmart and First Solar shares, John's estate collected around $14 billion in the two decades after his death. He was a major donor to causes that helped underprivileged kids to attend private schools and various other educational charities.

He was a star football player at Bentonville High School before enrolling at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

In 1968 John dropped out of college and enlisted in the United States Army to do his duty during the Vietnam War. During the war, he served as a Green Beret and saw active combat in both Vietnam and Laos. He eventually received a Silver Star for bravery in combat.

Tragically, John Walton died on June 27, 2005, in a plane crash. At the time of his death John directly owned roughly 12 million shares of Walmart. Through family trusts, he also shared ownership in roughly 1.7 billion additional shares. A large portion of John's estate was left to charity and the remaining was left to his widow,Christy Walton. Lukas was 19 years old at the time. In 2015, unsealed court documents showed that, by this point, Lukas had inherited his father's full estate. Today he owns roughly 3.8% of Walmart. He has also earned $5 billion from dividends and share sales since 2005. His mother owns roughly 2% of Walmart.

John Thomas Walton was born in Newport, Arkansas, on October 18, 1946. His father Sam Walton founded Walmart in July 1962 when John was 14. His other siblings areRob Walton,Jim WaltonandAlice Walton.

After the war, John earned his pilot's license so he could work as a pilot for the now-thriving Walmart corporation. He eventually left to work as a crop dusting pilot. Around this time he founded his first company, Satloc, an aerial application company that was one of the first to use GPS technology in crop dusting.

In 1996 John and a business associate named Michael Ahearn co-founded a venture capital firm called True North Partners. True North was eventually renamed JWMA (John Walton Michael Ahearn). In 1999, with True North/JWMA as a seed investor, Michael Ahearn founded First Solar. First Solar went public in 2006 and today has a market cap north of $15 billion.

In 1992 he joined the Board of Wal-Mart.

Next, he moved to San Diego, CA, where he founded a sailboat-building company.

Ultimately, John Walton's financial journey is a testament to their success.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.