You never know what interesting Arkansas-related tidbits you might find by reading National Geographic, but, by golly, somehow, some way there’s often proof that it really is a small world after all.
This time it was on Page 48 of the October 2026 issue (Vol. 250, No. 4). Smack dab in the middle of an article titled, “Inside Africa’s Great Rhino Rescue,” there’s a one-paragraph reference to Arkansas’ own Rob Walton.
The short version is that Peter Fearnhead, the founder and CEO of a nonprofit that manages safari parks in Africa, came up with an audacious plan. First, he wanted to rescue a reeling refuge for rhinos. Then he would put Donovan Jooste in charge of bringing that herd back to health, growing it, and relocating the animals to countries all over the continent.
So, the article by Alex Perry says …
“Seized by the urgency of (John) Hume’s failing operation, Fearnhead decided against a general appeal to his donors in favor of a 20-minute call to his biggest one: Walmart heir Rob Walton, worth an estimated $138 billion. Walton said yes, African Parks bought the Klerksdorp farm for $13 million, and within months, Jooste had begun to turn it around.”
Hmmmm, I thought. Rob Walton is saving rhinos in Africa. Will he save the Razorbacks in Arkansas? He could give the Hogs $75 million a year for the next 100 years and still have $130 billion left over for the rhinos and other pet causes, right?
Then I was reminded of a deeper truth: It’s really easy to make a case for what other people should do with their money.
The Walton family, including heirs who now have different last names by marriage, often are seen by Arkansas fans as the would-be saviors of Razorback football. They have the money. They should just throw it the Razorbacks way and, presto, Arkansas would become the next Indiana – from 20 years mostly in the gridiron gutter to the top of the college football world.
That might be true, and as an interested observer and former fan of the Razorbacks, I’m all for it. Still, it’s helpful to keep a few things in mind.
One, several Walton family members already contribute significantly to Arkansas athletics, and not just to pay for facilities like Bud Walton Arena. Walmart is a major sponsor, Walton Enterprises probably still has a luxury suite for football, and the UA administration often refers to the family as donors who regularly step up to support the program financially.
Two, if you look around, you’ll notice that the Waltons donate millions upon millions to several really life-changing causes – protecting rivers systems like the Colorado and Mississippi rivers, education initiatives across the country, workforce initiatives in the Delta, a world-class art museum, plans for a world-class medical center, the UA’s business school (named for Sam Walton), miles upon miles of really cool bike trails, and, of course, saving rhinos in Africa.
Some donations flow through the family’s foundation, while some are personal investments. But it’s all money they could invest anywhere else – in the stock market, on a new pair of running shoes for each day of the year, or by putting it under their mattress. They choose to give it away.
Three, Walton family members have some level of ownership in two NFL teams, two NBA teams, an NHL team, two pro soccer teams and a professional lacrosse team. Rob Walton, for instance, once was majority owner of the Denver Broncos, a franchise now under the control of his daughter and son-in-law. All of that complicates the family’s involvement in NIL because each pro league has unique rules about how owners can contribute to college programs.
Also, as team owners, there’s an expected return on their investment. The teams might turn a short-term profit. Over time, they almost always go up in value. But while a pro sport team is an investment, college sports are a money pit. You get nothing back but the good feeling of knowing you helped the team and the state. That’s only if all the money you give translates into wins on the football field, and there are no guarantees.
None of that, of course, matters much to many Razorback fans. They just want the Waltons to give whatever it takes to turn Arkansas football back into a winning program.
And how much is that?
Hard to say – $50 million a year? $75 million a year? $100 million a year?
For that to happen, however much that happens to be, here’s what I personally suggest the Arkansas program needs to do: Earn it.
Not the money, but the trust the spurs that kind of giving.
I don’t know Peter Fearnhead or Rob Walton, but I can say with confidence that Fearnhead only had Walton’s phone number because there was a basic level of established trust between the two men. And Walton didn’t donate all or even part of the $13 million to buy a rhino refuge in Africa without trusting the project would be managed well.
College sports are broken, and Arkansas football has suffered from poor administrative leadership for several years. It’s hard to blame the Waltons, or anyone else, if they want to limit their investments in something so clearly flawed. In the meantime, they can help kids learn to read, help maintain healthy rivers, help develop better approaches to health care, and help ensure rhinos don’t go extinct.
It’s their money, given to them by the grace of God. And when I look at where they are investing in good causes, not where they are not giving, the two words that spring to mind aren’t, “Give more!”
They are, “Thank you.”
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