The claim: Walmart has been sold to a Chinese firm
U.S.-China relations aren’t exactly at a historic high point, given the recent trade war and the ongoing global pandemic that originated in China.
And now one Facebook poster claims a business group there has bought America’s largest retailer.
“The Arkansas family Walton’s has sold Walmart to a group of investors from China for 500 Billion dollars,” reads the Jan. 2 post, which has been widely shared. “So sorry to say that I have made my last trip to Walmart, and I hope all you will find another place to spend your money as well.”
It ends with this bit of attempted reinforcement: “I googled it to make sure and there it was. You can check for yourself.”
So we did. And, of course, this is nonsense.
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A host of logical problems
Researching this topic,as the author suggests, quickly raises an array of red flags.
First, there’s the lack of reporting on the matter.
Walmart is a big deal, and a sale of this sort would be covered by every major news outlet in the country. No such coverage exists.
Second, Walmart is a publicly traded company. It can’t be simply or secretly “sold,” as this post asserts.
A “sale” of a public company would require that the buyer purchase the majority of the publicly available shares. That would require sign-off from the Walton heirs, since the children of Walmart founder Sam Walton own about half of all Walmart shares. The other half is widely distributed across the marketplace, with no single entity holding more than the approximately 5% held by Vanguard.
Such a sale would also have to be reported to the SEC, which hasn’t happened.
Third, a quick Google search turns up a potential explanation for this claim — a story from a satire news site asserting the same thing.
Empire News posted a story in 2015 saying the retail giant had been sold to “Chine Investment Group” for $535 billion, roughly the same number cited in this Facebook post. Of course, that group and all the stories on that site are fictional, though the Facebook comments attached below the Empire News story — many of them recent — show plenty of people taking the report seriously.
The man who posted the Walmart sales claim on Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
Our ruling: False
We rate this claim FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Walmart was not sold to a Chinese firm, as any rudimentary online search will show. The only supporting “evidence” online comes from a 6-year-old story — on a satire site.
Our fact-check sources:
- Facebook post, Jan. 2
- Investopedia, July 14, Top Walmart Shareholders
- Walmart, April 23, 2020 Walmart proxy statement
- Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, March 10,Waltons shift shares to holding company
- Empire News (satire), Jan. 28, 2015,Walmart Sells To Chinese Investment Group For Over $500B
Contact Eric Litke at (414) 225-5061 or elitke@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ericl*tke.
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Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
I'm an expert in business and finance, well-versed in the dynamics of corporate transactions, financial markets, and the intricacies of publicly traded companies. My expertise is grounded in extensive research and practical knowledge of the subject matter.
Now, let's delve into the concepts presented in the article and provide additional information:
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Walmart's Publicly Traded Status:
- The article emphasizes that Walmart is a publicly traded company. Publicly traded companies, like Walmart, have shares that are available for purchase by the public on stock exchanges.
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Sale of Public Companies:
- The claim in the Facebook post suggests that Walmart has been sold to a group of investors from China for $500 billion. The article correctly highlights the logical problems with this claim.
- Public companies cannot be secretly sold. Any significant sale would involve the purchase of a majority of publicly available shares. In the case of Walmart, this would require approval from the Walton heirs and would need to be reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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Media Coverage:
- The article points out the lack of media coverage on this purported sale. Major transactions involving a company as significant as Walmart would be widely covered by major news outlets, and the absence of such coverage raises red flags.
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Satire News Site:
- The article identifies a potential source for the false claim—a satire news site named Empire News. In 2015, this site published a fictional story stating that Walmart had been sold to a "Chine Investment Group" for a similar amount ($535 billion). The article emphasizes the importance of fact-checking and highlights that the Empire News story is fictional.
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SEC Reporting:
- The article rightly mentions that any sale of a significant portion of Walmart would have to be reported to the SEC. The absence of such a report further discredits the claim.
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Google Search:
- The article highlights the importance of fact-checking through a quick Google search. In this case, a search reveals the potential origin of the claim in a satire news story from 2015.
In conclusion, the claim that Walmart has been sold to a Chinese firm is debunked as false based on thorough research and logical reasoning. The article emphasizes the importance of scrutinizing information, conducting fact-checks, and relying on reputable sources to verify claims in the era of misinformation.
