Walmart's massive surge just added billions to the Walton family's wealth - here's how much you'd have made if you invested $1,000 back in the day

Steve Helber/AP

• Walmart is surging after crushing earnings estimates Thursday morning, adding about $12 billion to the wealth of the Walton family.
• An investment of $1,000 at the start of 1980 would be worth over $1.9 million today.
• Watch Walmart stock trade in real time here.

Walmart's stock price is surging after the company announced better-than-expected earnings results Thursday morning. As a result, the Walton family - the descendants of the retail mega-giant's founder - gained about $12 billion in wealth Thursday morning.

And an investor in the company decades ago would have made a very nice return on that bet.

According to Yahoo Finance, Walmart's split- and dividend-adjusted closing stock price on January 2, 1980 was a little over $0.05. As of 1:15 PM ET Thursday, Walmart was trading just shy of $99 per share, up nearly 10% on the day.

The chart below shows the value over time of a $1,000 investment made in Walmart at the start of 1980. As of Thursday afternoon, that investment would be worth over $1.9 million:

Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Yahoo Finanace