Bud Walton

Standing here in northwest Arkansas amid the appreciative gathering with sky blue “What’s Important Is You” banners hanging from the rafters and scoreboard, the messes is clear: God, America, Wal-Mart. Welcome to the pageantry and spectacle of Sam Walton’s capitalism rally — the 1988 Wal-Mart Shareholders’ Meeting — touted as the largest shareholders’ meeting in America, if not the world. read more >

Stanley Kroenke, husband of Ann Walton Kroenke, has added another little parcel to his collection of luxury vacation properties. According to Forbes, Stanley Kroenke bought a 124,000-acre ranch in Montana earlier this month. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed, but the asking price was $132.5 million. read more >

The lessons Sam Walton learned during those early, successful years of Wal-Mart allowed him to build the most successful retail chain in history. And just like the times that he took his planes up to search for potential Wal-Mart sites, it was Mr. Sam himself who was behind the stick, deciding which direction to go. read more >

Some put the blame of stagnant domestic same-store sales on Wal-Mart’s management team, saying it has drifted away from Walton’s essential philosophy of offering the lowest price. read more >