Keepin’ It in the Family

The Walton family, in their greedy quest to amass unfathomable wealth, has a tendency to go about business in rather shady ways.  Aside from their exploitation of workers at all stages of the supply chain, from sweatshops in China to the retail floor in the U.S., Walton family money is invested all over the world – bringing with it the same crooked, devious business management as Wal-Mart.

There are two key players involved in Walton investments:  Madrone Capital Partners and Greg Penner.

Madrone Capital Partners is the Walton’s private equity firm and was an early investor in Baidu, the largest internet search engine in China.

Greg Penner is not only a partner in Madrone Capital Partners, Penner also sits on the board of Baidu.  And interestingly enough, Penner is also Rob Walton’s son-in-law.  (A little family history:  Penner is married to Carrie (Walton) Penner, the daughter of Samuel Robson Walton (aka Rob Walton). Rob Walton is chairman of Wal-Mart and son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.)

With Walton money and family members on hand, it’s not hard to implicate the Walton family in Baidu’s latest scandal:

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