John T. Walton
Encyclopedia
John Thomas Walton was a decorated United States
war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton
. He was also the chairman of True North Partners, a venture capital
firm. Walton cofounded the Children's Scholarship Fund
, providing tuition scholarships for disadvantaged youth.
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 enlist in the U.S. Army
(after the Vietnamese Tet Offensive).
During the Vietnam war Walton served in the Green Berets as part of the Studies and Observations Group. He was involved in combat in the A Shau Valley
and in Laos
, where he was the medic and second-in-command of a unit named "Strike Team Louisiana". Walton later received a Silver Star
for bravery in combat.
Walton learned to fly and went to work as a pilot for Wal-Mart
. 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, a company that built trimaran
sailboats. He also lived in Durango, Colorado
and was an enthusiastic skier, mountain biker, hiker, motorcycle rider, sky diver 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. He was an advocate of school vouchers. For his achievements, he received the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership
.
Walton died on June 27, 2005 when his CGS Hawk Arrow homebuilt aircraft
(registered as an "experimental aircraft
" under FAA
regulations) that he was piloting
crashed in Jackson
, Wyoming
. Walton's plane crashed at 12:20 p.m. local time (1820 GMT) shortly after taking off from Jackson Hole Airport
.
The National Transportation Safety Board
later reported that Walton had improperly reinstalled the rear locking collar on the elevator control torque tube. This allowed the torque tube to move rearward during his flight and loosened the elevator control cable tension. The outcome of the failed repair was an inflight loss of pitch control
, without which Walton could not control the aircraft's altitude.
Shortly before his death Forbes
magazine has estimated Walton's net worth to be billion
, tied with his brother Jim
as the 4th richest person
in the United States
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. He had two brothers and a sister, S. Robson Walton
, Jim Walton
and Alice Walton
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton
Sam Walton
Samuel Moore "Sam" Wallballs was a businessman, entrepreneur, and Eagle Scout born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma best known for founding the retailers Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.-Early life:...
. He was also the chairman of True North Partners, a venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
firm. Walton cofounded the Children's Scholarship Fund
Children's Scholarship Fund
The Children's Scholarship Fund is a privately-funded tuition assistance program in the United States. The fund allows low-income children to attend private schools. Almost 25,500 students in Kindergarten to 8th Grade receive the fund's scholarships. It was founded in 1998 by Theodore J. Forstmann...
, providing tuition scholarships for disadvantaged youth.
Early life and service in the Vietnam War
Walton graduated from Bentonville High SchoolBentonville High School
Bentonville High School is a public high school in Bentonville, Arkansas for grades nine through twelve. The student population is approximately 3455 in 2010-2011. The current principal of the high school is Kim Garrett...
where he was a star football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. Walton went on to attend the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio
Wooster, Ohio
Wooster is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio approximately SSW of Cleveland and SW of Akron. Wooster is noted as the location of The College of Wooster...
. He dropped out of college in 1968 to enlist in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
(after the Vietnamese Tet Offensive).
During the Vietnam war Walton served in the Green Berets as part of the Studies and Observations Group. He was involved in combat in the A Shau Valley
A Shau Valley
The A Shau Valley is a valley in Vietnam's, Thừa Thiên province, west of the city of Huế along the border with Laos. The valley was one of the key entry points into South Vietnam for men and matériel brought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail by the communist forces and was the scene of heavy fighting...
and in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, where he was the medic and second-in-command of a unit named "Strike Team Louisiana". Walton later received a Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
for bravery in combat.
Later life
After returning from VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
Walton learned to fly and went to work as a pilot for Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
. 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, a company that built trimaran
Trimaran
A trimaran is a multihulled boat consisting of a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls , attached to the main hull with lateral struts...
sailboats. He also lived in Durango, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
and was an enthusiastic skier, mountain biker, hiker, motorcycle rider, sky diver and scuba diver.
In 1998, as part of the Philanthropy Roundtable
Philanthropy Roundtable
The Philanthropy Roundtable is a private, non-partisan, 501 organization. Its stated mission is "to foster excellence in philanthropy, to protect philanthropic freedom, to assist donors in achieving their philanthropic intent, and to help donors advance liberty, opportunity, and personal...
, Walton and friend Ted Forstmann
Theodore J. Forstmann
Theodore Joseph "Ted" Forstmann was one of the founding partners of Forstmann Little & Company, a private equity firm, and chairman and CEO of IMG, a global sports and media company. A member of the Republican Party, Forstman was a philanthropist...
established the Children's Scholarship Fund
Children's Scholarship Fund
The Children's Scholarship Fund is a privately-funded tuition assistance program in the United States. The fund allows low-income children to attend private schools. Almost 25,500 students in Kindergarten to 8th Grade receive the fund's scholarships. It was founded in 1998 by Theodore J. Forstmann...
to provide tuition assistance for low-income families to send their children to private schools. He was an advocate of school vouchers. For his achievements, he received the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership
William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership
The William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership is an annual award given by the William E. Simon Foundation in honor of its founder, former Secretary of the Treasury and financier William E...
.
Death
Homebuilt aircraft
Also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, homebuilt aircraft are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.-Overview:...
(registered as an "experimental aircraft
Experimental aircraft
An experimental aircraft is an aircraft that has not yet been fully proven in flight. Often, this implies that new aerospace technologies are being tested on the aircraft, though the label is more broad....
" under FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
regulations) that he was piloting
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
crashed in Jackson
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. Walton's plane crashed at 12:20 p.m. local time (1820 GMT) shortly after taking off from Jackson Hole Airport
Jackson Hole Airport
Jackson Hole Airport is a public airport located seven miles north of the central business district of Jackson, a town in Teton County, Wyoming, United States...
.
The National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
later reported that Walton had improperly reinstalled the rear locking collar on the elevator control torque tube. This allowed the torque tube to move rearward during his flight and loosened the elevator control cable tension. The outcome of the failed repair was an inflight loss of pitch control
Pitch control
A variable speed pitch control is a control on an audio device such as a turntable, tape recorder, or CD player that allows the operator to deviate from a standard speed . The latter term "vari-speed" is more commonly used for tape decks, particularly in the UK...
, without which Walton could not control the aircraft's altitude.
Shortly before his death Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine has estimated Walton's net worth to be billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
, tied with his brother Jim
Jim Walton
James Carr Walton is the youngest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and the Chairman of Arvest Bank.With an estimated net worth of around US$21.3 billion, Walton is currently ranked by Forbes as the 20th-richest person in the world....
as the 4th richest person
Forbes list of billionaires
Forbes list of billionaires is based on an annual assessment of wealth and assets compiled and published by Forbes magazine on March 10, 2011.-Forbes list of billionaires :...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and 11th-richest person in the world.
Walton was survived by his wife Christy
Christy Walton
Christy Ruth Walton is the widow of John T. Walton, who was a son of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. After John's death in June 2005, she inherited his fortune of $15.7 billion....
and their son Lukas. He was previously married to Mary Ann Gunn, who later became a judge in Arkansas. He had two brothers and a sister, S. Robson Walton
S. Robson Walton
Samuel Robson "Rob" Walton is the eldest son of Helen Walton and Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. He is currently chairman of the worldwide company...
, Jim Walton
Jim Walton
James Carr Walton is the youngest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and the Chairman of Arvest Bank.With an estimated net worth of around US$21.3 billion, Walton is currently ranked by Forbes as the 20th-richest person in the world....
and Alice Walton
Alice Walton
Alice Louise Walton is an American heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune. She is the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton, and sister of S. Robson Walton and Jim Walton. Another brother, John T. Walton, died in a 2005 plane crash. In September 2011, her estimated net worth was...
.