Theo Albrecht
Encyclopedia
Theodor Paul Albrecht generally known as Theo Albrecht, 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
owns 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.
In 1971, Theo was kidnapped for 17 days. A ransom of seven million German marks (approximately $2 million at the time) was paid for his release.
Both Albrecht brothers have been reclusive, Karl from before the kidnapping, and little is known about their private lives. The last published photo of Theo Albrecht dates to 1971, one day after his kidnapping. Another photo of the two Albrecht brothers together was taken in 1987 by the journalist Franz Ruch.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
entrepreneur, who in 2010 was ranked by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
as the 31st richest person in the world, with a net worth
Net worth
In business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time...
of $16.7 billion. He owned and was the CEO of the Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
Nord discount supermarket chain. In the US he owned the Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. , Trader Joe's had a total of 365 stores. Approximately half of its stores are in California, with the heaviest concentration in Southern California, but the company also has locations in 30...
specialty grocery store chain. His brother Karl Albrecht
Karl Albrecht
Karl Hans Albrecht is a German entrepreneur who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Theo. He is among the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth in 2011 of $25.5 billion according to Forbes, which ranks him 12th in its 2011 list of billionaires - making him...
owns 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
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. , Trader Joe's had a total of 365 stores. Approximately half of its stores are in California, with the heaviest concentration in Southern California, but the company also has locations in 30...
, while owned by the brothers, have separate and distinct ownership and operations.
In 1971, Theo was kidnapped for 17 days. A ransom of seven million German marks (approximately $2 million at the time) was paid for his release.
Both Albrecht brothers have been reclusive, Karl from before the kidnapping, and little is known about their private lives. The last published photo of Theo Albrecht dates to 1971, one day after his kidnapping. Another photo of the two Albrecht brothers together was taken in 1987 by the journalist Franz Ruch.