Karl Albrecht

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Karl Hans Albrecht (born February 20, 1920 in Essen ; † July 16, 2014 there ) was a German entrepreneur . In 2014, the founder of Aldi Süd was the richest person in Germany with an estimated total assets of around 18.3 billion euros .

biography

Family and Education (1920–1936)

Karl Albrecht and his younger brother Theo (1922–2010) grew up in what was then Essen's working-class district of Schonnebeck . Her father Karl Albrecht senior (1886–1943) was a trained baker and in 1913 set up a business as a bread trader with a shop at Huestraße 87 in Essen-Schonnebeck. His wife Anna Albrecht (née Siepmann) (1886–1970) ran the business at least during the military service of Karl Albrecht senior and remained a member of the management until 1960 after his sons took over the company. In 1919 the business was relocated to the neighboring house at Huestraße 89 (also known as the original Aldi).

Original Aldi on Huestraße 89 in Essen-Schonnebeck

Like his brother Theo, Karl Albrecht helped out with his parents' business. B. collected open invoices from customers. After finishing school, he completed an apprenticeship in the Weiler delicatessen store, of which there is still a branch in Essen-Bredeney .

Soldier in World War II and the post-war period

From 1939 Albrecht served as a soldier in the Wehrmacht and took part in the war against the Soviet Union . In 1941 he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Moscow and, according to his own account, narrowly escaped a leg amputation.

After the Second World War , Karl Albrecht and his brother Theo took over their parents' grocery store in 1946, the then Albrecht KG (predecessor company of Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord). In the following 15 years the brothers set up numerous new branches, also beyond the Ruhr area . In 1959, 300 branches generated sales of 90 million DM .

Foundation of Aldi Süd (1961)

In 1961 the brothers split their chain into two parts north and south of the Ruhr . From then on, Karl Albrecht headed Aldi Süd based in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Theo Albrecht Aldi Nord based in Essen. The first Aldi supermarket today's coinage as discounter was in 1962 Dortmund opened - the name derives from Aldi Al brecht Di Skønt from.

Richest person in Germany

In March 2014, the US business magazine Forbes ranked Albrecht first among the richest Germans. At that time, Karl Albrecht's total assets were estimated at around 18.3 billion euros.

Private

Very little information is known about Albrecht, e.g. B. that he was a devout Catholic and was married to Mia Albrecht (née Tenbrink, 1923–2013) for 67 years. Albrecht was also the father of two children, Karl Albrecht junior (* 1947) and Beate Heister , née Albrecht. He had six grandchildren, all of them from his daughter. He lived in a post-war villa in Essen-Schuir .

Albrecht was a fan of golf and owned his own course with a hotel , the Öschberghof near Donaueschingen , which he had built in 1976. He had a holiday home in Aasen near this hotel. He allegedly grew orchids .

Albrecht withdrew from the operational business of Aldi Süd in 1994 and took over the chairmanship of the supervisory board . He also gave up this at the beginning of 2002. The company was now run exclusively by non-family managers . Albrecht contributed all of his assets to the non-dissolvable Siepmann Foundation based in Eichenau ( Fürstenfeldbruck district ). In 1997 he bought a grave in the city cemetery in Essen-Bredeney in case of death.

Seclusion

Albrecht withdrew completely from the public as early as the mid-1950s. He kept his private life out of the public eye. He was considered media-shy, concealed his identity and refused all kinds of interviews. Only shortly before his death did he meet a journalist for an interview.

Although Albrecht had been the richest person in Germany since the 1970s, there were no films in the media , only three older photos were known to the German press. In many photos, Karl Albrecht was mistakenly confused with his brother Theo, who died in 2010 (there are film recordings after his kidnapping in 1971). The only surviving (and authentic) business statement was made by Karl Albrecht in 1953 at a meeting of the NRW food association . He commented on the Aldi principles as follows: "Since 1950 we have been following the principle of small product ranges as well as the principle of low prices." His death was also only known to the public five days later, on the day of his funeral.

literature

  • Kuhna, Martin: The Albrechts. In the footsteps of the ALDI entrepreneurs. Redline Verlag, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-86881-572-6

TV documentary about the history of the Albrecht family

  • The Aldi story. Documentation, Germany, 2014, 45 min., Script and direction: Sebastian Dehnhardt and Manfred Oldenburg , production: ZDF , first broadcast: December 9, 2014
  • The ALDI brothers. Dokudrama, Germany, 2018, 88 min., Director: Raymond Ley , production WDR , first broadcast: October 22, 2018

Web links

Obituaries

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b "Forbes" ranking. Bill Gates again richest person in the world manager magazin from 03.03.2014. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  2. ^ Kuhna, Martin: Die Albrechts. In the footsteps of the ALDI entrepreneurs. Redline Verlag, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-86881-572-6 , pp. 18ff. u. P. 178ff.
  3. ^ Kuhna, Martin: Die Albrechts. In the footsteps of the ALDI entrepreneurs. Redline Verlag, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-86881-572-6 , p. 26ff.
  4. ^ A b Mathias Müller von Blumencron: I was lucky. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, No. 167/2014 (July 22, 2014), p. 18 f .
  5. ^ Kuhna, Martin: Die Albrechts. In the footsteps of the ALDI entrepreneurs. Redline Verlag, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-86881-572-6 , p. 31.
  6. ↑ The discounter principle. In: The world . February 17, 2010, accessed November 20, 2018 .
  7. ↑ a b c Ruhr families: The Albrecht brothers at derwesten.de, accessed on July 28, 2010
  8. ↑ Aldi Nord - About us - Section "100 years of Kaufman tradition"
  9. ↑ Space for the grandson on manager magazin online
  10. ↑ The secret agent - The discount billionaire Karl Albrecht is 90 years old these days - but nobody really knows . Article in the Badische Zeitung, accessed on February 22, 2010
  11. ↑ Wirtschaftswoche of April 29, 2003: ALDi brotherly united
  12. ↑ Obituary for Theo Albrecht: Father of the pure discount theory on Spiegel online
personal data
SURNAME Albrecht, Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albrecht, Karl Hans (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH eat
DATE OF DEATH July 16, 2014
Place of death eat