A nonprofit founded by Alice Walton, the heiress to the Walmart fortune with an estimated net worth of $91.3 billion, gave $249 million to help fund a new medical school in Arkansas, Forbes reported Oct. 1.
Ms. Walton has donated an estimated $1.5 billion during her lifetime, ranking as America's 26th most generous philanthropist, according to Forbes.
In 2021, she announced plans to finance and build an independent medical school in Bentonville, Ark., which was then called the Whole Health School of Medicine and Health Science. The school is 154,000 square feet and sits on 14 acres.
Pending accreditation, the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine's four-year medical degree program will welcome its first class of 48 students in 2025.
Another of Ms. Walton's nonprofits, the Alice L. Walton Foundation, recently partnered with Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy, Cleveland Clinic and other organizations to invest $700 million over 30 years to improve healthcare access in Arkansas. The foundation will also develop an outpatient center for specialty care in Bentonville.