John T. Walton

John Thomas Walton (October 8, 1946^[1] – June 27, 2005) was an American war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He was also the chairman of True North Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. Walton cofounded the Children's Scholarship Fund, providing tuition scholarships for disadvantaged youth.

Early life and service in the Vietnam War

Walton was born in Newport, Arkansas. He graduated from Bentonville High School where he was a star football player. Walton went on to attend the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. He dropped out of college in 1968 to spend more time playing the flute and enlisted in the U.S. Army (after the Vietnamese Tet Offensive).

During the Vietnam war, Walton served in the

After returning from Vietnam, Walton learned to fly and went to work as a pilot for Walmart. He later left the company to fly crop-dusters over cotton fields in several southern states and co-founded Satloc, an aerial application company that pioneered the use of GPS technology in agricultural crop-dusting. Walton then moved to San Diego where he founded Corsair Marine,^[3] a company that built trimaran sailboats. He also lived in Durango, Colorado, and was an enthusiastic skier, mountain biker, hiker, motorcycle rider, skydiver and scuba diver.

In 1998, as part of the Philanthropy Roundtable, Walton and friend Ted Forstmann established the Children's Scholarship Fund to provide tuition assistance for low-income families to send their children to private schools.^[4] He was an advocate of school vouchers. For his achievements, he received the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.^[5][6][7]

Death

Walton died on June 27, 2005, when the

and 11th-richest person in the world.

Walton was survived by his wife Christy and their son Lukas. He was previously married to Mary Ann Gunn, who later became a judge in Arkansas.^[10] He had two brothers, S. Robson Walton and Jim Walton and a sister, Alice Walton.

See also

• Forbes list of billionaires (2004)
• Walton family

References

1. ^ Tedlow, Richard S. (July 23, 2001). "Sam Walton: Great From the Start". HBS Working Knowledge. Harvard Business School. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
2. ISBN 0-9743618-0-1
   ) by John Stryker Meyer.
3. ^ Edwards, Larry M. (September 7, 1992). "Corsair Marine Inc: Another Walton Filling a Niche". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
4. ^ "John Thomas Walton". News. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. June 29, 2005. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
5. ^ "Excellence in Philanthropy: Updates On Past Winners 2001-2013, John Walton". Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
6. ^ "Jacobs, Joanne. The Carnegie of School Choice John Walton's work to ensure good schools for all children leaves a lasting legacy. 2005". Archived from the original on 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
7. ^ The Philanthropy Hall of Fame, John Walton Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ "DEN05FA100". NTSB. October 31, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
9. ^ Forbes 400 Richest in America 2004: #4, Walton, John T. Forbes.com
10. ^ "Son of Wal-Mart founder killed in plane crash". Associated Press. June 28, 2005.

External links

Wikinews has related news:

• Wal-Mart heir John Walton killed in plane crash

• John T. Walton at Find a Grave
• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 2004
• Genealogy of the Walton family