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Tue 28 Jun, 2005 05:41 am
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- John Walton, the billionaire son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and a member of the company's board, died Monday in a plane crash in Wyoming.
Walton, 58, of Jackson, Wyo., was piloting an ultralight that crashed shortly after takeoff from the Jackson Hole Airport in Grand Teton National Park, the company said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the cause of the afternoon crash was not known, officials said.
The plane was an experimental ultralight aircraft with a small, gasoline-powered engine and wings wrapped in fabric similar to heavy-duty sail cloth, officials said.
In March, Forbes Magazine listed John Walton as No. 11 on its list of the world's richest people with a net worth of $18.2 billion. He was tied with his brother Jim, one spot behind his bother Rob, and just ahead of his sister Alice and his mother Helen.
Walton joined the board of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 1992, but did not work for the company.
''We're sad that John Walton, who was well-known and much-loved in this valley, died doing something that he loved to do, which was fly aircraft,'' said Joan Anzelmo, a spokeswoman for Grand Teton National Park.
''I saw parts of it,'' she said of the plane. ''I didn't realize what I was seeing at first. It was so lightweight it looked like a giant model airplane.''
Anzelmo said officials notified the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
''Because this is a homemade, non-registered, experimental aircraft, at least today they told us there was not going to be an investigation,'' she said. Grand Teton rangers will conduct their own probe, as is done with any major accident in the park, she said.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams said the company notified its employees worldwide of Walton's death.
Walton was an Army veteran who served with the Green Berets as a medic during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Silver Star for saving the lives of several members of his unit while under enemy fire, according to the company. He attended the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and served as a board member of the Walton Family Foundation.
The company said Walton pursued a variety of business interests including working as a crop duster in the 1970s and building boats in the 1980s. More recently, he had formed a holding company, True North, to oversee various business interests.
Walton is survived by his wife, Christy, and son, Luke; his mother, Helen; two brothers, Rob and Jim; and a sister, Alice.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.
New York Times - Today
Re: Proof that Money cannot buy happiness.
thethinkfactor
Money cannot buy immortality. But it can buy things that give us happiness. That fellow, John Walton, had during 58 years money enough to enjoy all the happiness he could get.
don't want to sound critical of the deceased, but this is more like proof that wealth isn't always accompanied by common sense. i would no more fly an experimental plane than try to play catch with a water bottle and videotape other skiers while skiing, like the late Michael Kennedy.
Money cannot buy immortality.
I do agree that money cannot buy happiness, however, I don't understand the connection between being killed and money buying happiness. He very well could have been happy. And as was stated in the article, he died doing something he loved so if anything it appears he was happy.
"don't want to sound critical of the deceased, but this is more like proof that wealth isn't always accompanied by common sense. i would no more fly an experimental plane than try to play catch with a water bottle and videotape other skiers while skiing, like the late Michael Kennedy."
because he was doing something risky he did not have "common sense"? what an absurd accusation. i would assert just the opposite that he had a lot of common sense as he appeared to know how to live life to the fullest. you appear to be the individual lacking common sense as you life a life confined by fear.
I agree with bubba. Flying an experimental airplane doesn't necessarily mean he was lacking common sense. I'm sure he was pretty knowledgeable on flying airplanes...accidents happen.
And the title of this thread has nothing to do with the article.
BubbaGumbo wrote:"don't want to sound critical of the deceased, but this is more like proof that wealth isn't always accompanied by common sense. i would no more fly an experimental plane than try to play catch with a water bottle and videotape other skiers while skiing, like the late Michael Kennedy."
because he was doing something risky he did not have "common sense"? what an absurd accusation. i would assert just the opposite that he had a lot of common sense as he appeared to know how to live life to the fullest. you appear to be the individual lacking common sense as you life a life confined by fear.
well, the way i see it is, it's common sense not taking unnecessary risks. if i had several equally enjoyable ways to pass the time, i would choose the one that's less risky. it's different if someone is a thrillseeker, who can only get kicks doing dangerous things. in that case, go sky dive, have unprotected sex, take street drugs, whatever he wants, it's a free country.
Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:I agree with bubba. Flying an experimental airplane doesn't necessarily mean he was lacking common sense. I'm sure he was pretty knowledgeable on flying airplanes...accidents happen.
do you also agree with bubba that i lack common sense and made an absurd accusation and that i live confined by fear?
No. I agree that by him flying an experimental airplane doesn't mean he lacks common sense. It was obviously a hobby of his, one that's shared by many, many people.
don't know how common a hobby that is, but the fact that many people do it does not affect how risky it is. many people smoke, for example. but i concede the point, i should have merely suggested a possible lack of common sense on his part; you haven't ruled that out completely like bubba, have you? in part i was throwing out an alternate moral to this story, one i thought fit the circumstances better than the title of the thread, which might have been tongue in cheek for all i know.
incidentally, i think "common sense" is a bit of a misnomer. for example, take how many people voted for the incumbent in the last presidential election. for the record, i didn't.
I think that we are assuming a lot by saying that there is a one to one correlation with money and happiness.
Current arguments are saying that there is little to do with money and happiness beyond the poverty level.
I don't think that it is that much of a stretch to say that you need to be alive to be happy - at least in many of the philosophical conceptions of happiness - The Epicrurean, The Stoic, the Utilitarian and so on.
Thoughts?
TTF
Happiness and death - depends on your beliefs. If a Christian, then you would have a higher degree of happiness in death versus life, for example.
From our perspective (that of the living), you could also say that you are not unhappy as much as you can say you are not happy when you die.
I am not sure Linkat - Suicide seems then the proper option if what you say is true.
Furthermore beliefs do not ensure reality - Pascal's wager was not a decent argument because if he is right then belief has nothing to do with faith - it is the knowledge (and the logic that the safer bet was with God) that propels happiness.
I think beliefs have nothing to do with it.
TTF
Actually being a Christian suicide is not the proper option by a long shot! If you commit suicide you are making a mortal sin which can not be forgiven as you can not confess and ask for forgiveness. Thus you will not have eternal peace. You will exist in the absence of God.
For Christians beliefs are one in the same as reality. If you do not have total faith and belief in your beliefs, then you have no faith. In your opinion, this does not ensure reality. However, to Christians, belief is stronger than any "facts" you have before you. I suppose you could not understand unless you have complete faith.
"Actually being a Christian suicide is not the proper option by a long shot! If you commit suicide you are making a mortal sin which can not be forgiven as you can not confess and ask for forgiveness. Thus you will not have eternal peace. You will exist in the absence of God."
ROFFLEcakes. Do you understand what you just said? By your definition of being forgiven, anybody who lacks the mental capacity or schooling to form a language can't be "saved". How do people without a language and in turn, the ability to "confess and ask forgiveness" get saved if they commit a sin or two? Guess they're all going to hell and I didn't realize how important my 1st grade English class was
Yitwail way to demonstrate to everyone that you're not a mindless partisan hack, because you're right everyone who voted for Bush lacks common sense
First off Bubba - I stated the conservative Christian viewpoint of suicide. Many people feel differently even within the Christian faith. I was simply explaining why it is not a solution to finding happiness even if by dying you reach salvation and eternal peace.
Suicide is, in effect, self-murder. The unfortunate thing about it is that the one who commits it cannot repent of it. The damage is permanently done. We can see in the Bible that murderers have been redeemed (Moses, David, etc.), but they had opportunities to confess their sins and repent. With suicide, the person does not. Conservative Christians and Catholics believe that as a result this person would not be saved.
However, there are other Christian opinions that would state that this does not mean the person is lost. Jesus bore all that person's sins, including suicide. If Jesus bore that person's sins on the cross over 2000 years ago, and if suicide was not covered, then the Christian was never saved in the first place and the one sin of suicide is able to undo the entire work of the cross of Christ. This cannot be. Jesus either saves completely or he does not.
In either situation, as a Christian you are supposed to follow Jesus' teachings whether it is difficult or not. Even confessing is not the more important aspect; it is the repenting of the sin. For a Christians suicide is not an option. Christians believe they do not have the right to take their own lives. That belongs to God.
Secondly, do you understand what you just said? Confessing and asking for forgiveness can be done without speaking. When you pray to God, you do not necessarily talk out loud. You don't even have to form words, simple thoughts. My two year old prays.
Thirdly, not sure if you were referring to me as being a Bush supporter, but I did not vote for him and whether one votes for a particular candidate or not has nothing to do with common sense.
Finally, realizing you are very new here, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. If you ever read anything I have written you would be well aware that I am extremely open minded (something you should look into) - I am not a conservative Christian, am considered a liberal Christian so instead of making rash judgments you need to be a little more open minded. If you didn't know, my a2k name is Linkat and I would prefer if you give me the respect I deserve and refer to me as such.
TheThinkfactory,
I agree with you that money can't buy happiness. People can get lots of cars, big screen tv's and nice places, but if one doesn't have the mental capacity to appreciate the simple things, life can't be too happy for them.
I often hear of depression getting more common in the US; if happiness is a correlation to money then people in the US must be getting poorer, which is probably untrue. Anyways, even people who are poor can be happy.
yitwail wrote:don't know how common a hobby that is.
Just for the record, it is VERY, VERY common. I lived in the hometown of the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) for over 24 years and used to visit a pilot friend of mine (who just happened to fly old highly modified WWII Hawker Sea Fury's) at places like The National Reno Air Championships every year. He also flew a LOT of EAA's over his years.
EAA's are not new and not any riskier than you walking across the street on any given day.
My 2 cents.
BubbaGumbo wrote:Yitwail way to demonstrate to everyone that you're not a mindless partisan hack, because you're right everyone who voted for Bush lacks common sense
glad you're paying attention. you're being ironic, aren't you? well, maybe i was too. for the record, i'd hardly categorize everyone who voted for Bush as lacking in common sense. many people, mainly the wealthy, voted for him from pure self-interest, which is certainly compatible with common sense. but voting because of non-existent WMD or a non-existent connection to 9/11 could be lack of common sense in some cases.
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