Rob Walton served as Walmart’s chairman for more than two decades. Photo by Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images
Rob Walton, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton and the former chairman of the retail giant, is donating $115 million to Arizona State University (ASU), the largest donation in the institution’s 140-year history. The funds will support a new school dedicated to conservation and offering training, educational and career opportunities. “Students bring fresh ideas, energy and innovation,” said Walton in a statement. “By getting involved now—through research, advocacy or fieldwork—they gain the skills to drive real change.”
The donation will establish the Rob Walton School of Conservation Future within ASU’s newly renamed Rob Walton College of Global Futures. Walton’s gift will also fund the school’s chair, create three professorships in research and education, and launch a scholarship fund.
Set to open by the end of the year, the school will provide conservation training programs for high school students, workers and executives, issue certificates for organizations and government agencies, and expand workforce opportunities in the field. Over time, it will add graduate and undergraduate degree programs.
“Through its central mission of transforming conservation education for a thriving planetary future, this new academic entity is not just preserving ecosystems—it is developing adaptive solutions to ensure sustainable pathways for future generations,” said Peter Schlosser, vice president of ASU’s Global Futures College, in a statement.
The Walton family’s philanthropic legacy
Walton, 80, has an estimated net worth of $123.1 billion. He served as chairman of the Arkansas-based retailer from 1992 to 2015, during which he pursued corporate conservation strategies, including working with Conservation International on sustainability goals such as reducing waste across Walmart’s global operations.
This isn’t Walton’s first conservation-related gift to ASU. In 2012, Walton and his wife, Melani, donated $27.5 million to advance sustainability initiatives, a figure that grew to $31.8 million by 2019. ASU later named a planetary health facility in their honor.
Walton’s philanthropy is part of a broader family tradition. The Walton family, the wealthiest in America, channels much of its giving through the Walton Family Foundation, created by Sam Walton in the 1980s. The foundation focuses on education, environmental programs and regional development in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta, distributing nearly $550 million in grants last year.
His siblings, both also centibillionaires, have made major philanthropic moves as well. Jim Walton made headlines in 2019 with a $1.2 billion Walmart stock donation, the largest gift of that year. Alice Walton has given more than $1.5 billion to the arts and founded institutions such as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
