Theo Albrecht
| Theo Albrecht | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Theodor Paul Albrecht 28 March 1922 Essen, Rhine Province, Weimar Republic |
| Died | 24 July 2010 (aged 88) Essen, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, owned Trader Joe's and Aldi Nord |
| Net worth | $16.7 billion |
| Children |
Theo Albrecht Jr. Berthold Albrecht (deceased) |
| Relatives | Jaroslav Evans Albrecht |
Theodor Paul "Theo" Albrecht (28 March 1922 – 24 July 2010) was a German entrepreneur, who in 2010 was ranked by Forbes as the 31st richest person in the world, with a net worth of $16.7 billion. He owned and was the CEO of the Aldi Nord discount supermarket chain. In the US he owned the Trader Joe's specialty grocery store chain. His brother Karl Albrecht owned the Aldi Süd discount supermarket chain. The two chains originally were a single family enterprise until a friendly division of assets in 1960. Aldi Süd operates the Aldi groceries in the United States. So Aldi and Trader Joe's, while owned by the brothers, have separate and distinct ownership and operations.
Theo Albrecht and his brother Karl revolutionized the German grocery market with a low-cost business model. They had developed the supermarket as an outgrowth of their mother's small grocery store, which she had opened in 1913, in Essen, after Theo’s father had developed emphysema as a miner. Theodor learned the grocery business from his mother, in order to escape the fate of his father in the mines. He and his brother Karl developed Albrecht Diskont, one of Europe’s largest chains of supermarkets, with the motto "The best quality at the lowest price," and now known by its acronym, Aldi.Forbes has estimated Theo's fortune from the supermarket chain as approximately £11 billion. Theodor and Karl Albrecht split the Aldi Company they founded in 1960 after a dispute about whether to sell cigarettes. The supermarket divided into two legally separate operating units with two geographical locations. Theodor's Aldi Nord set to operate in the north of Germany and Karl's Aldi Süd, set to operate in Germany's south. The progression of Aldi under Karl and Theodor Albrecht stands as one of Germany’s greatest success stories. Theodor retired from daily operations in 1993 and remained as chairman of the board.
In 1971, Albrecht was kidnapped for 17 days. A ransom of seven million German marks (approximately US$2 million at the time) was paid for his release. He was held at gunpoint by Heinz-Joachim Ollenburg, a lawyer, and his accomplice Paul Kron. The ransom sum was delivered by the Bishop of Essen. His kidnappers were eventually caught by authorities, but only half of the money was recovered. Albrecht later tried successfully to claim the ransom as a tax deductible business expense in court.
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Wikipedia