Christy Ruth Walton (born 1955) is the widow of John T. Walton, one of the sons of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. After John's death in June 2005, she inherited his fortune of billion.
According to Forbes, she is the 6th richest person in the United States, and the 10th richest person in the world, . Forbes reported that she was the richest woman in the world for seven years running, and still held the title in March 2012. However, by May 2012 BRW estimated that Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart had exceeded Walton's wealth. , she and her family had an estimated net worth of $29.9 billion, the bulk of which comes from her shares in Wal-Mart, but also from First Solar, in which her husband invested. She resides in Jackson, Wyoming and has one son, Lukas. As of October of 2012, Walton was listed as the 9th richest person in the world.
Recently, her identity has been used by Internet scammers who are claiming she is terminally ill in order to induce unsuspecting individuals to part with their money in order to secure a portion of her wealth.