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The article:

Is the Walmart family wealthier than 40 percent of the United States?

By Molly Moorhead
Published on Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 at 3:20 p.m.

Related rulings:

True
"Today the Walton family of Walmart own more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of America."

Bernie Sanders, Sunday, July 22nd, 2012.

Ruling: True | Details

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The Walmart home office in Bentonville, Ark. (AP photo)

The Walmart home office in Bentonville, Ark. (AP photo)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, tweeted a startling statistic to his followers on July 22, 2012: "Today the Walton family of Walmart own more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of America."

Sanders speaks and writes frequently about wealth distribution in the U.S., a hot-button issue among liberals and a rallying cry of the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

The Waltons, of course, are members of the proverbial 1 percent. But are they really sitting on that much wealth?

We decided to fact-check Sanders claim and rated his statement True. Read our complete analysis.

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Sources:

See fact-check for complete sources.

Researchers: Molly Moorhead

Names in this article: Bernie Sanders

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