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Wikipedia puts him at $230 billion in 1992, crazy indeed. EDIT: Wikipedia meme, move along.
by emp_ 14y ago
Wikipedia puts him at $230 billion in 1992, crazy indeed.
EDIT: Wikipedia meme, move along.
- kylec 14y agoDon't believe everything you read on Wikipedia. A week ago that was edited from $23 billion to $230,000 billion (i.e. $230 trillion), which is obviously preposterously wrong: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Walton&diff=533271968&oldid=533271814 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Walton&dif...
- emp_ 14y agoA rather redundant comment, we wouldn't need to mention it as a source if at least the citation link worked, would we? There is though still $120+ billion on his children in that list.
- bostonpete 14y agoYeah, but the Walmart stock price didn't start to really take off until the late 90's.
- rayiner 14y agoOh Wikipedia. Sam Walton was listed as being worth $7.3 billion in 1990: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1990/09/10/73983/ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1990/...
- mildavw 14y agoPointing out the fact that the most successful store in history by a huge margin is one that neither you nor anyone you know shops at is a great way to illustrate the importance of market validation for startups.
- pmorici 14y agoSorry, are you saying no one on HN shops at Walmart or that there is a more successful store?
- mildavw 14y agoIt's a broad stroke for sure, but, yes, no one on HN shops at Walmart.
- protomyth 14y agoI hope you're joking. Shopped there tonight. It was there or a poorly stocked K-Mart. I find the local grocery store less ethical than the Walmart.
- mildavw 14y agoI'm not joking, but my point is lost in some confusion, so I'll add this caveat: If your audience does shop at Walmart, or knows people who do, then pointing out Walmart's jaw dropping numbers will not be a good device for illuminating the importance of market validation. In fact it could encourage them carry on with the potentially mistaken assumption that the entire planet's needs/problems are the same as their own.
- ghaff 14y agoSilly comment. I don't especially like shopping at Walmart but there is one 5 minutes from me--in a fairly rural locale where there aren't a lot of especially close stores--so, yes, I shop there for a lot of items.
- mildavw 14y agoIt depends on your audience of course. I probably wouldn't point that out in rural areas, where Walmart has more penetration.