Theo Albrecht, Jr.

Theodor “Theo” Albrecht Jr. is a German billionaire businessman, the son of Theo Albrecht, co-founder of Aldi. As of January 2018, Albrecht’s net worth is estimated by Forbes as $22.4 billion. 

• Theo Albrecht Jr. and the heirs of his brother, Berthold, inherited one of the world’s great retail fortunes.
• From a corner grocery store in Essen, opened in 1913, their father, Theo Sr., and his brother, Karl Sr., built their empire after World War II.
• Propagating the discount revolution in German retailing, they ran their Aldi supermarket chain based on a low-price strategy similar to Wal-Mart.
• In 1961, the brothers split ownership: Karl Sr. took the stores in southern Germany, plus rights to the Aldi brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S.
• Theo Sr. got the stores in northern Germany and the rest of Europe. In 1971, he bought U.S. grocery discounter Trader Joe’s.