Karl Albrecht $26 B 93 Aldi Germany
Karl Albrecht owns Aldi Sud, a giant German discount supermarket chain, with 4,600 stores in 9 countries, including 1,200 locations in 32 U.S. states. Revenues of the private company grew an estimated 9% in 2012 to $46.5 billion, according to analysts. Growth was strongest in Ireland and the UK. To keep costs low, Aldi stores do not accept credit cards. Karl and his late brother Theo began working at their mother's corner grocery store after World War II and turned it into a large retail chain with low prices and no frills. The brothers split ownership in 1961: Karl took the more profitable stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo, who died in 2010, got the stores in northern Germany and the rest of Europe; Theo's son Theo Jr. is also a billionaire. Karl Albrecht, now 93, resigned from the operational business in 1994 and stepped down from the Aldi advisory board in 2002. His daughter, Beate Heiser, and one of her sons, Peter Max, represent the family on the board of trustees.
Karl Albrecht owns Aldi Sud, a giant German discount supermarket chain, with 4,600 stores in 9 countries, including 1,200 locations in 32 U.S. states. Revenues of the private company grew an estimated 9% in 2012 to $46.5 billion, according to analysts. Growth was strongest in Ireland and the UK. To keep costs low, Aldi stores do not accept credit cards. Karl and his late brother Theo began working at their mother's corner grocery store after World War II and turned it into a large retail chain with low prices and no frills. The brothers split ownership in 1961: Karl took the more profitable stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo, who died in 2010, got the stores in northern Germany and the rest of Europe; Theo's son Theo Jr. is also a billionaire. Karl Albrecht, now 93, resigned from the operational business in 1994 and stepped down from the Aldi advisory board in 2002. His daughter, Beate Heiser, and one of her sons, Peter Max, represent the family on the board of trustees.
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