Walton, Sam

The creator of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which revolutionized the discount retailing business. His worldwide empire grew from one store that he opened in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores all over the world with $244 billion in sales in 2002. He took the novel approach of opening his stores in rural, small-town areas. Only in recent years has Wal-Mart opened stores in major metropolitan areas. Wal-Mart has stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, and China among other countries.