Its patron, Alice Walton, is the scion of the Ozarks' first family: her father, Sam Walton, opened a discount store called Wal-Mart in nearby Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962.
Americans' heroes are outlaws, like wild west gunfighter Jesse James, or entrepreneurs, like Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart chain of superstores.
By coincidence, the richest man in America, Sam Walton, was sitting in my office when the market closed.
This eliminated some the richest people in the world, including Ingvar Kamprad, the billionaire founder of Ikea and the descendants of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.
For that matter, America loves Warren Buffett, just as it loved Sam Walton when he was the country's richest man.
Like Henry Ford, Sam Walton was a businessman who recognized a good idea when he saw it and, more importantly, knew how to apply it in a way that would have the biggest impact.
Steve Jobs's transition from CEO of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to chairman has caused a great deal of ink to be spilt on the departure of other famous CEOs, such as Walt Disney, Henry Ford, and Sam Walton.
In 1987, that was still a lot of money, even to Sam Walton.
Oracle der Larry Ellison had the fifth spot, while five heirs of the Wal-Mart fortune created by founder Sam Walton rounded out the top 10.
Over the past year, it strayed from its "everyday low prices" slogan, the bedrock philosophy of founder and namesake Sam Walton.
