It's a place everyone knows, just like the post office or even city hall. Wal-Mart. Therein lies the strangeness, in the fact that one retail store is just as well known as staples for cities across the nation; not to mention the fact that Wal-Mart is not only in the United States, but all over the world. The founder of the billion-dollar industry, Sam Walton, expected success from his venture, but no one could have predicted how influential the retail store would be. Wal-Mart is a surprisingly successful company with humble beginnings, but it may have a difficult road ahead in terms of social issues due to its treatment of employees and its strong effects on the economy. Born March 29, 1918, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, Sam Walton was said to excel at anything he set his mind to (Walton & Huey, 14). President of the high school and college student body at the University of Missouri, where he majored in economics, Walton and his natural ambition have brought him success in virtually all of his endeavors; during the Great Depression, Walton had run a small newspaper business, earning an impressive four to five thousand dollars a year. It leaves little to wonder about how exactly Wal-Mart became such a financially successful industry. Although Walton was quite successful in his business ventures, he could not afford graduate school, particularly the Wharton School of Finance, and instead took a job at JC. Penny as a management trainee; Walton's first retail job, where he worked for just over a year. After serving in World War II, Walton, under the light regulation of his wife, opened a Ben Franklin variety store in the small town of Newport, Arkansas. Owning a retail store at age twenty-seven taught… middle of paper… the bunch. 2006. Print.Quinn, Bill. How Walmart is destroying America (and the world) and what you can do about it. Third edition. Ten Speed ​​Press, 2005. Print.Ungar, Rick. Walmart pays workers poorly and sinks while Costco pays workers well and proves you get what you pay for. Forbes, April 17, 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/04/17/walmart-pays-workers-poorly-and-sinks- while-costco-pays-workers-well-and - proof-sail-that-you-get-what-you-pay-for/Roberts, Bryan. Berg, Natalie. Walmart: Key insights and practical lessons from the world's largest retailer. Kogan Page Limited, 2012. Print.Van Riper, Tom. Wal Mart is good for you. Forbes, January 10, 2008. http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/09/walmart-retail-economy-biz-commerce-cx_tvr_0110walmart.htmlWalton, Sam. Hey, John. Sam Walton: Made in America, my story. Bantam, 1992. Print.