Meet Nancy Walton Laurie, the billionaire Walmart heiress whose $300 million yacht was spray-painted by climate activists last year

• Nancy Walton Laurie is the daughter of Walmart cofounder James "Bud" Walton.
• Her net worth is $9.10 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.
• Here's what we know about the Walmart heiress.

While Sam Walton is the better-known cofounder of Walmart, he didn't start the world's largest retailer by himself.

Walton had help from his younger brother, James "Bud" Walton, who left behind his stake in the company to his two children, daughters Ann Walton Kroenke and Nancy Walton Laurie, when he died in 1995.

His younger daughter, Nancy, made headlines last year when her $300 million superyacht, Kaos, was spray-painted by climate activists proclaiming the message "You consume, others suffer."

Here's what you need to know about the billionaire Walmart heiress:

Nancy Walton Laurie, 72, is the youngest daughter of James "Bud" Walton, who cofounded Walmart with his brother, Sam Walton. The brothers opened the first Walmart in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas.

She currently lives in Henderson, Nevada, and Los Angeles, according to Bloomberg.

Sources: Bloomberg

In 1973, she graduated from the University of Memphis, known then as Memphis State, with a bachelor's degree in English.

Source: Bloomberg

She met her future husband, Bill Laurie, at the university, where he played basketball. His team made it to the 1973 NCAA finals.

Source: Memphis Daily News

The couple had a daughter, Elizabeth Paige Laurie, in 1982. Paige was accused of paying a fellow student $20,000 to do her homework for three and a half years during her time at USC and in 2005, she surrendered her degree.

Source: LA Times

When James "Bud" Walton died in 1995, Nancy inherited around half of her father's 40 million shares in Walmart, while her older sister, Ann Walton Kroenke, received the rest. Nancy owns less than a 5% stake in the company, according to Bloomberg. She is not actively involved in Walmart's operations.

Source: Bloomberg

Nancy is the 269th richest person in the world as of April 29, 2024, according to The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated net worth of $9.10 billion.

Source: Bloomberg

Nancy's cousin, Alice Walton, is one of the world's richest women and for a brief time was named the richest woman in America.

Source: Business Insider

Collectively, members of the Walton family own an estimated stake of around 45% of Walmart.

Source: Forbes

Nancy is a patron of the arts. In 1998, she established a dance school called the Columbia Performing Arts Center in Columbia, Missouri.

Source: New York Times

She also owned a contemporary ballet company called the Cedar Lake Ensemble in New York City. She established the company in 2002. In 2004, she paid $11.37 million to build out "a 191-seat theater, a rehearsal studio and offices for her company," according to the New York Times. The company closed in 2015.

Source: New York Times; New York Times

Nancy and her husband owned the St. Louis Blues hockey team from 1999 to 2005. Today, they have a commercial real estate portfolio, multiple homes, and two yachts, according to Forbes.

Sources: Como Mag; Globe Newswire; Forbes

One of Nancy's yachts, called Kaos, was the subject of news last year when climate activists spray-painted it.

Members of Spanish environmental group Futuro Vegetal last year spray-painted the yacht as it was docked at a port in Ibiza, an island off the coast of Spain.

The 361-feet long yacht is worth an estimated $300 million and includes a swimming pool, cinema, spa, and aquarium, according to Yacht Bible.

After activists spray-painted the stern of the yacht in red and black, they held up a sign that read "You consume others suffer."

A video of the event, and of workers hosing down the paint afterwards was uploaded online.

—FuturoVegetal🍒 (@FuturoVegetal) July 16, 2023