Inside the $500 billion web of family offices

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

Walmart stock has soared 25% this year, putting America’s largest retailer on track to a $1 trillion market cap. At the center of the stock windfall is the Walton family, worth $482 billion by Bloomberg’s estimate, and their personal investment firms.

None of the Waltons — the surviving children and grandchildren of late Walmart founder Sam Walton — work directly for the retailer, though one serves on Walmart’s board and an in-law chairs it. But the family still holds a 45% stake in Walmart, and since the start of 2020, the Waltons and their family trust have sold $25.3 billion in Walmart stock, according to Smart Insider.

As America’s richest family has gotten richer, the Waltons have put their growing wealth in the hands of a network of family offices to make investments and launch foundations.

Walton Enterprises, the family office that holds most of their Walmart shares, acts as the central hub for the family’s investments and philanthropy. The rest is held in a family trust that is managed by Walton Enterprises. The firm declined to comment for this story.

Walton Enterprises flies under the radar. Few of its investments are disclosed, but public records reveal real estate developments and a $4.4 billion stock portfolio with a conservative mix of ETFs and bond funds. 

Buzzy bets on sports teams, artificial intelligence startups and clean energy are left to the family members and their individual family offices. For instance, Rob Walton, son of founder Sam, bought the NFL’s Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion in 2022 and is worth $137 billion per Bloomberg. Part of his wealth is managed by private equity firm Madrone Capital Partners, which is the largest shareholder of ticket reseller StubHub. His nephew Lukas Walton, worth $48 billion, has made $15 billion in impact investments over the last decade or so, ranging from sustainable fuel made from sewage to bonds that fund ocean conservation, according to his family office Builders Vision.

Yet even as they build out their own teams and infrastructure, the Waltons continue to rely on Walton Enterprises for much of their wealth management and philanthropy needs. 

Experts say this “hub and spoke” model allows the family to benefit from the economies of scale created by their pooled investments, while also enabling family members to pursue their own projects. 

The family is able to access top-tier private equity and venture capital funds more easily than they would with…