#8 Christy Walton & family-Net Worth $37.9 Billion $533 M | -1.4% As of 4/11/2014

Walton is the richest woman in the world once again, taking back the title from L'Oreal Heiress Liliane Bettencourt. She has now held that title for 4 out of the last 5 years. She inherited her wealth when husband John Walton, a former Green Beret and Vietnam war medic, died in an airplane crash in 2005. John's side investment in First Solar had boosted Christy's net worth well above the rest of her family, but the stock sank in 2011, narrowing her lead. But First Solar stock has revived, up 47% in past year and boosting her net worth by $466 million. The bulk of her holdings are in Wal-Mart, the massive retailer founded by her father-in-law Sam Walton and his brother James in 1962. Christy received $460 million in Wal-Mart dividends after taxes in 2013. She leads a very private life in Jackson, Wyoming, but in August had a rare bit of publicity when she was given an award by the Imagen Foundation for producing the film "Bless Me, Ultima," based on the book by Rudolfo Anaya, who is considered the father of Chicano literature. Her son battled cancer when he was just three years old and she fought a case of pneumonia that nearly killed her, according to the Imagen Foundation.

Co-Chair, Children's Scholarship Fund

Age 59
Source Of Wealth Wal-Mart
Residence Jackson, WY
Citizenship United States
Marital Status Widowed
Children 1

Christy Walton & family on Forbes Lists

#9 Billionaires
#7 in United States
#11 in 2013
#6 Forbes 400

#8 Christy Walton & family-Net Worth $37.9 Billion $533 M | -1.4% As of 4/11/2014