Walmart Billionaire Promotes Nationwide Anti-Trump 'No Kings' Protests

Forbes

Walmart heiress Christy Walton, one of the richest women in America, has joined a small group of billionaires speaking out against President Donald Trump. The 76-year-old Walton, who is worth an estimated $19.3 billion according to Forbes, paid to take out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times on Sunday calling on readers to “mobilize” on Saturday, June 14. The advertisement appears to be an escalation of one she paid for in March, also in The Times print edition.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2025/06/10/billionaire-walmart-heiress-promotes-nationwide-anti-trump-protests-on-june-14/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, billionaire Walmart heiress promotes nationwide anti-Trump protests.

00:07Walmart heiress Christy Walton, one of the richest women in America,

00:12has joined a small group of billionaires speaking out against President Donald Trump.

00:17The 76-year-old Walton, who is worth an estimated $19.3 billion, according to Forbes,

00:23paid to take out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times last Sunday,

00:27calling on readers to, quote, mobilize on Saturday, June 14th.

00:33The advertisement appears to be an escalation of one she paid for in March, also in the Times print edition.

00:39At the top of the ad are the words, quote,

00:41which appear to reference a political organization that's coordinating hundreds of anti-Trump protests across the U.S. Saturday, June 14th,

00:51the same day Trump is slated to host a military parade in Washington, D.C.

00:54Organizers of the counter-protests told Axios they are expecting this to be the largest single-day rally

01:01since the start of the administration.

01:04No Kings spokesperson, Andrew Cook, told Forbes there will be more than 1,800 events across the country.

01:10The group is not planning a protest in D.C. as part of their plan to, quote,

01:14make action everywhere else.

01:17The No Kings website says, quote,

01:18The advertisement also lists eight different principles Walton supports,

01:34from caring for, quote, veterans and children,

01:37to defending, quote, against the aggression of dictators.

01:40The ad also says, quote,

01:42We are the people of the United States of America.

01:45The honor, dignity and integrity of our country are not for sale.

01:50Randy Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers,

01:54one of the organizations partnering with No Kings to organize the anti-Trump protests,

01:59says, quote,

02:00According to a person with knowledge of Walton's thinking,

02:14who spoke on the condition of anonymity,

02:15the ad, which ran nationwide, is a, quote,

02:19personal message from the billionaire,

02:21encouraging people, quote,

02:23to engage peacefully and civically in this weekend's events on June 14th.

02:27This person says, quote,

02:29Her message promotes peaceful dialogue and the sharing of diverse views and voices.

02:34She condemns violence in all forms

02:35and continues to emphasize the importance of listening to one another.

02:40Joe Pennington, director of Walmart's global press office,

02:44highlighted that, quote,

02:45The advertisements from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart.

02:51Walmart has publicly clashed with the Trump administration

02:54over threats of sweeping international tariffs.

02:56Last month, Trump threatened Walmart, the nation's largest retailer,

03:01after its CEO, Doug McMillan, warned about raising prices in response to Trump's tariffs.

03:06In a Truth Social post calling out Walmart,

03:08Trump wrote in all capital letters, quote,

03:11Eat the tariffs.

03:13Trump went on, quote,

03:14I'll be watching and so will your customers.

03:18Pennington also said that Walton does not, quote,

03:20serve on the board or play any role in decision making at Walmart.

03:24He added, quote,

03:25As a company with associates and customers in the Los Angeles region,

03:29we remain focused on their safety and that of impacted communities.

03:34Walton owns an estimated 1.9% stake in Walmart,

03:38which she inherited after her husband, John Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005.

03:43John Walton was one of four children of Sam Walton,

03:47the founder of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer.

03:50John's siblings, Rob, Jim, and Alice,

03:53are among the top 15 richest people in the world,

03:56worth at least $100 billion apiece.

03:59Christie's 38-year-old son, Lucas,

04:01is also a billionaire after inheriting an estimated 3.7% of Walmart upon his father's death.

04:07Lucas runs the sustainability-focused philanthropic investment platform BuildersVision

04:13and is worth some $39.6 billion, according to Forbes.

04:19Christie Walton is one of very few billionaires to vocalize opposition against Trump,

04:23despite a controversial first few months in office due to tariffs,

04:27immigration crackdowns, and unprecedented attacks

04:29against some of the country's most prestigious universities.

04:32For full coverage, check out Jemima McAvoy's piece on Forbes.com.

04:39This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:42Thanks for tuning in.

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