Who founded the retail giant Walmart in 1962?

Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962. He opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store on July 2 that year at 719 West Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas, launching the discount retail chain that would become Walmart.

Walton had already built substantial retail experience before starting Walmart. He purchased and operated variety stores, and by 1962 he and his brother James “Bud” Walton owned 16 stores across Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. Their new discount-store strategy focused on low prices and locating stores in smaller towns that larger competitors often overlooked.

The wording of the question can obscure Bud Walton’s role: Sam was the driving force and the best-known founder, but Walmart was founded by brothers Sam and Bud Walton. Sam Walton is therefore the standard single-name answer used in general trivia. The company expanded beyond Arkansas in 1968, incorporated as Wal-Mart, Inc. in 1969, and became publicly traded in 1970.