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John Thomas Walton (October 8, 1946 – June 27, 2005) was an American war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He was also the chairman of True North Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. Walton cofounded the Children's Scholarship Fund, providing tuition scholarships for disadvantaged youth.
Walton died on June 27, 2005, when the CGS Hawk Arrow Homebuilt aircraft, home-built ultralight aircraft (registered as an "experimental aircraft" under Federal Aviation Administration, FAA regulations) that he was aviator, piloting crashed in Jackson, Wyoming, Jackson, Wyoming. Walton's plane crashed at 12:20 p.m. local time (1820 GMT) shortly after taking off from Jackson Hole Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board later reported that Walton had improperly reinstalled the rear locking collar on the elevator control torque tube. This allowed the torque tube to move rearward during his flight and loosened the elevator control cable tension. The outcome of the failed repair was an inflight loss of pitch control, without which Walton could not control the aircraft's Flight dynamics (fixed-wing aircraft), altitude.
Shortly before his death, ''Forbes'' magazine had estimated Walton's net worth to be 1000000000 (number), billion, tied with his brother Jim Walton, Jim as the Forbes list of billionaires, 4th richest person in the United States and 11th-richest person in the world.
Walton was survived by his wife Christy Walton, Christy and their son Lukas Walton, Lukas. He was previously married to Mary Ann Gunn, who later became a judge in Arkansas. He had two brothers, S. Robson Walton and Jim Walton and a sister, Alice Walton.
Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, John Thomas 1946 births 2005 deaths Accidental deaths in Wyoming American businesspeople in retailing United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States College of Wooster alumni People from Newport, Arkansas Bentonville High School alumni People from Bentonville, Arkansas Recipients of the Silver Star Members of the United States Army Special Forces Walton family, John T. Businesspeople from Arkansas Businesspeople from Wyoming 20th-century American philanthropists United States Army soldiers 20th-century American businesspeople Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2005
Early life and service in the Vietnam War
Walton was born in Newport, Arkansas. He graduated from Bentonville High School where he was a star American football, football player. Walton went on to attend the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. He dropped out of college in 1968 to spend more time playing the flute and enlisted in the United States Army, U.S. Army (after the Vietnamese Tet Offensive). During the Vietnam war, Walton served in the Special Forces (United States Army), Green Berets as part of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group, Studies and Observations Group. He was involved in combat in the A Shau Valley and in Laotian Civil War, Laos, where he was the medic and second-in-command of a unit named "Spike Team Louisiana". Walton later received a Silver Star for bravery in combat.Later life
After returning from Vietnam, Walton learned to fly and went to work as a pilot for Walmart. He later left the company to fly crop-dusters over cotton fields in several southern states and co-founded Satloc, an aerial application company that pioneered the use of GPS technology in agricultural crop-dusting. Walton then moved to San Diego where he founded Corsair Marine, a company that built trimaran sailboats. He also lived in Durango, Colorado, and was an enthusiastic skier, mountain biker, hiker, motorcycle rider, skydiver and scuba diver. In 1998, as part of the Philanthropy Roundtable, Walton and friend Theodore J. Forstmann, Ted Forstmann established the Children's Scholarship Fund to provide tuition assistance for low-income families to send their children to private schools. He was an advocate of school vouchers. For his achievements, he received the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.Death
Walton died on June 27, 2005, when the CGS Hawk Arrow Homebuilt aircraft, home-built ultralight aircraft (registered as an "experimental aircraft" under Federal Aviation Administration, FAA regulations) that he was aviator, piloting crashed in Jackson, Wyoming, Jackson, Wyoming. Walton's plane crashed at 12:20 p.m. local time (1820 GMT) shortly after taking off from Jackson Hole Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board later reported that Walton had improperly reinstalled the rear locking collar on the elevator control torque tube. This allowed the torque tube to move rearward during his flight and loosened the elevator control cable tension. The outcome of the failed repair was an inflight loss of pitch control, without which Walton could not control the aircraft's Flight dynamics (fixed-wing aircraft), altitude.
Shortly before his death, ''Forbes'' magazine had estimated Walton's net worth to be 1000000000 (number), billion, tied with his brother Jim Walton, Jim as the Forbes list of billionaires, 4th richest person in the United States and 11th-richest person in the world.
Walton was survived by his wife Christy Walton, Christy and their son Lukas Walton, Lukas. He was previously married to Mary Ann Gunn, who later became a judge in Arkansas. He had two brothers, S. Robson Walton and Jim Walton and a sister, Alice Walton.
See also
* Forbes list of billionaires (2004) * Walton familyReferences
External links
*Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, John Thomas 1946 births 2005 deaths Accidental deaths in Wyoming American businesspeople in retailing United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States College of Wooster alumni People from Newport, Arkansas Bentonville High School alumni People from Bentonville, Arkansas Recipients of the Silver Star Members of the United States Army Special Forces Walton family, John T. Businesspeople from Arkansas Businesspeople from Wyoming 20th-century American philanthropists United States Army soldiers 20th-century American businesspeople Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2005