The World's Richest People
The Top Ten Billionaires

1. William Gates III
2. Warren Buffett
3. Karl Albrecht
4. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
5. Paul Allen

6. Alice Walton - Net Worth: $20 billion
7. Helen Walton - Net Worth: $20 billion
8. Jim Walton - Net Worth: $20 billion
9. John Walton - Net Worth: $20 billion
10. S Robson Walton - Net Worth: $20 billion


The Walton family (yes, really) from the US controls 38% of Wal-Mart and provides 5 of the 10 richest people in the world. Wal-Mart is now the world's largest retailer with 4,000-plus stores around the globe.

As the Democratic Socialists of America put it: "Wal-Mart is more than just a participant in the low-wage economy: It is the most important single beneficiary of that economy. It uses its economic and political power to extend the scope of the low-wage economy and threatens to extend its business model into other sectors of the economy, undermining the wages of still more workers..."

The Wal-Mart Stores Political Action Committee (PAC) for Responsible Government has become the largest corporate PAC in the country... So far in this cycle they have spent $1,808,476, $1.3 million of that on Federal candidates (82% Republican and 18% Democrat - Senate: R $162,000 D $55,000 House: R $955,500 D $192,000).

In terms of donations by individuals working for Wal-Mart we see 59 donations for 2004 with 33 going to Bush/Cheney '04 and 12 going to Republican Party groups (RNC, RCCC, RSCC). 7 of those 59 donation came from 6 members of the Walton family.

Asda is part of the Wal-Mart family.

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 http://www.joehilldispatch.org/walmartbeat/archives/cat_business_news.php
 http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/717/P160/
www.forbes.com/billionaires/