Christy Walton attends the 28th Annual Imagen Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 16, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California.
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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.
At the top of the ad are the words “No Kings,” which appear to reference a political organization that’s coordinating hundreds of anti-Trump protests across the U.S. this Saturday, June 14, the same day Trump is slated to host a military parade in Washington, D.C.. Organizers of the counter-protests told Axios they are expecting this to be the largest single-day rally since the start of the administration. No Kings spokesperson Andrew Cook told Forbes there will be more than 1,800 events across the country. (The group is not planning a protest in D.C. as part of their plan to “make action everywhere else.”)
“In America, we don’t do kings,” reads the No Kings website. “They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services.”
The advertisement also lists eight different principles Walton supports – from caring for “veterans and children” to defending “against the aggression of dictators.” “We are the people of the United States of America. The honor, dignity, and integrity of our country are not for sale,” reads the ad.
The full-page ad that ran in The New York Times print edition on Sunday.
Kerry Dolan
“People from all walks of life support No Kings because our country was founded on the idea that presidents answer to the people – not to authoritarian overreach or violence,” says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the organizations partnering with No Kings to organize the anti-Trump protests.
According to a person with knowledge of Walton’s thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the ad, which ran “nationwide,” is a “personal message” from the billionaire encouraging people “to engage peacefully and civically in next weekend’s events on June 14.” “Her message promotes peaceful dialogue and the sharing of diverse views and voices,” this person says. “She condemns violence in all forms and continues to emphasize the importance of listening to one another.”
Joe Pennington, director of Walmart’s global press office, highlighted that “the advertisement from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart.”
Walmart has publicly clashed with the Trump administration over threats of sweeping international tariffs. Last month, Trump threatened Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, after its CEO Doug McMillon warned about raising prices in response to Trump’s tariffs. “EAT THE TARIFFS,” Trump said in a Truth Social post calling out Walmart. “I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
Walton does not “serve on the board or play any role in decision making at Walmart,” Pennington said, adding: “As a company with associates and customers in the Los Angeles region, we remain focused on their safety and that of impacted communities.”
Walton owns an estimated 1.9% stake in Walmart, which she inherited after her husband, John Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005. John Walton was one of four children of Sam Walton, the founder of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer. John’s siblings – Rob, Jim and Alice – are among the top 15 richest people in the world, worth at least $100 billion apiece. Christy’s 38-year-old son Lukas is also a billionaire after inheriting an estimated 3.7% of Walmart upon his father’s death. Lukas runs the sustainability-focused philanthropic investment platform Builders Vision and is worth some $39.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Walton hasn’t directly criticized Trump. However, she reportedly co-hosted a fundraiser for Trump’s Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in Jackson Hole last September. She also gave more than $700,000 in political donations last year, according to Federal Election Commission data reviewed by Forbes. This includes $100,000 to WelcomePAC, a political action committee focused on helping the Democratic Party reach “mainstream Americans,” and $200,000 to The Lincoln Project, a “pro-democracy” PAC formed by former conservatives.
In March, Walton paid for another full-page ad in The New York Times. It looks similar to the June 8 ad – with the same eight core principles and image of the Statue of Liberty – but made no mention of No Kings. It instead encouraged readers to “attend your town halls, be civil.”
Walton is one of very few billionaires to vocalize opposition against Trump despite a controversial first first few months in office due to tariffs, immigration crackdowns and unprecedented attacks against some of the country’s most prestigious universities. Last Thursday, Ken Griffin, founder of the $63 billion ( assets) Citadel hedge fund and a major GOP donor, joined the small group of critics taking aim at Trump – specifically, his “Big Beautiful Bill,” which Griffin argued at the 2025 Forbes Iconocolast Summit in Manhattan “will unquestionably add several trillion dollars” to the federal budget deficit. The financier, who voted for Trump in 2024, also called out the president for attacking McMillon, the Walmart CEO. “We should not be criticizing CEOs for being honest, right? And that’s all the CEO of Walmart was doing” Griffin said on stage at the summit. “Shame on the administration.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune who is worth an estimated $3.7 billion, has been perhaps the most vocal critic of Trump. The Democrat blasted Trump in April during a fiery speech at a fundraising event in New Hampshire, calling for mass protests and disruptions. “We will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone we have.” The next month, Pritzker described the Trump administration as “authoritarian” during an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel talk show. Others billionaires taken specific issue with Trump’s tariff policy, including Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, who warned in his letter to shareholders that tariffs would raise prices.
Update, 06/10/2025: This article has been updated to include a statement from a Walmart spokesperson.