The entry of Wal-Marts into D.C. proper has been one of the more contentious stories of the past five years, but during the debates about living wage and neighborhood development, one very key point was left out. The Walton family, of the big box chain's fortune, could theoretically buy every home in the District of Columbia. Redfin determined as much by looking at the net worth of people on Forbes' 400 Wealthiest list and then calculated the prices of homes using MLS data from the past year. As such, the Walton family could potentially pool their billions and buy all 209,092 condos, townhouses and McMansions in the District for $109,228,778,534. Bill Gates wouldn't even be able to afford that one on his own, but he could theoretically purchase all the homes in either Alexandria (for $50,556,457,649) or Arlington (for $43,377,675,376). Oddly enough, Jeff Bezos, the only billionaire with a true stake in this city, does not have the dough to buy all the homes in D.C., Alexandria, Arlington or Bethesda. Silver Spring on the other hand (which in its entirety would cost $27,955,854,053) is well within Bezos' billionaire grasp.
· Which billionaire could buy your city? [Redfin]
· The World's Billionaires [Forbes]
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