We have blogged before on the 5 richest Americans, 
how 4 out of 5 of them are college drop-outs and how their combined net worth is greater than the GDPs of most countries in the world. Now we will take a look at numbers 6 through 10 on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. They turn out to be all Waltons related to Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart chain. Number 6 is the widow of John Walton, Christy Walton, who is worth $15.7 billion. John Walton, son of Sam Walton, died in an experimental aircraft crash, and was, since we are tracking this, a dropout from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.
Tied for sixth with $15.7 billion is Jim C Walton, youngest son of Sam Walton who did graduate from University of Arkansas. Number 8 is S Robson Walton, another son of Sam Walton with $15.6 billion who also graduated from the University of Arkansas. Number 9, Alice L Walton with $15.5 billion, is a graduate of Trinity University of San Antonio. Number 10, Helen R Walton, with $15.4 billion, the wife of the late Sam
Walton is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. Sam Walton was a graduate of the University of Missouri in Economics and, although he's not on the Fortune 400 list because he is deceased, is the first person encountered here that could actually claim that his college education had something to do with his success in life. Warren Buffet, although a college graduate, made his money as an investor which he had started before attending college so his college education had nothing to do with it. All the Waltons except Sam inherited their money so their college education had nothing to do with their financial success either. The total Walton wealth comes to $77.9 billion which would easily place them in first place if Sam were still alive.
So not counting Sam Walton's family who inherited their money, out of the top 10, there are 2 college graduates, Sam Walton and Warren Buffett, and 4 college dropouts: Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison. The total worth of the top 10 is $226.4 billion a figure larger than the GDPs of all but 27 countries of the world on the IMF list and 26 countries on the World Bank list. South Africa is the country that has a GDP closest to the combined wealth of these 10 individuals.
