Walmart on This Day in History

Sam Walton

This Day in History: The first Walmart store opened for business in Rogers, Arkansas on this day in 1962. Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue, with US$514.405 billion and it is also the largest private employer in the world with 2.2 million employees. While many dislike Walmart, others argue that Walmart has done more to lift more low-income people out of poverty than any charitable organization or government agency in the world. Wal-Mart's everyday low retail prices in groceries, prescription drugs, clothing, and household items has significant economic benefits for the poor. Walmart also is at the forefront in many emergency response efforts. Ryan Ferguson in his article (My 5 Favorite Evil Corporations) states: "I don’t shop at Walmart very often, but they're a massive value creator for society that everyone hates. Rich people who prefer to imagine that poor people don’t exist like to lobby cities to prevent Walmart, ignoring how much they have improved the lives of people all over the world. They are the driving force of lowering the prices on all sorts of products. They have democratized wealth by pushing down supply costs and giving people access to inexpensive versions of almost any product available." https://fee.org/articles/my-5-favorite-evil-corporations/