Karl Hans Albrecht

Karl Hans Albrecht (; 20 February 1920 – 16 July 2014) was a German entrepreneur who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Theo. He was for many years the richest person in Germany. In February 2014, he was ranked the 21st-richest person in the world by Hurun Report. Biography Karl and Theo Albrecht were born and raised in a Catholic family in modest circumstances in Essen, Germany. Their father, Karl Sr, was employed as a miner and later as a baker's assistant. Their mother Anna, née Siepmann, had a small grocery store in the workers' quarter of , a suburb of Essen. Theo completed an apprenticeship in his mother's store, while Karl worked in a delicatessen shop. Karl served in the Wehrmacht during World War II and was wounded on the Eastern Front. After the war, the brothers jointly took over their mother's business and founded Albrecht KG. In 1960, the brothers had a disagreement over whether to stock cigarettes. While Theo wanted to sell them, Karl believed they would attract shoplifters. As a result, they divided their stores into two parts, with Theo retaining all stores north of the Ruhr, while Karl retained all stores south of the Ruhr. The first Aldi (short for Albrecht Discount) was opened in 1962, and the two groups became known as Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, respectively.