Karl Albrecht Jr. Karl Albrecht Jr. Karl Albrecht Jr. (born 1948) is a German billionaire, and the son of Karl Albrecht, who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Theo. Albrecht worked for Aldi Süd in various roles until his resignation due to a cancer diagnosis (from which he subsequently recovered). He and his sister Beate Heister control the family trust, the Siepmann Stiftung (named for their mother), which, in turn, controls Aldi Süd, the source of their joint fortune. Together with Heister, he has a net worth of US$25 billion, as of December 2018. He is married to Gabriele Mertes,
Theo Albrecht success stories. Theodor retired from daily operations in 1993 and remained as chairman of the board. In 1971, Albrecht was kidnapped for 17 days. A ransom of seven million German marks (approximately US$2 million at the time) was paid for his release. He was held at gunpoint by Heinz-Joachim Ollenburg, a lawyer, and his accomplice Paul Kron. The ransom sum was delivered by the Bishop of Essen. His kidnappers were eventually caught by authorities, but only half of the money was recovered. Albrecht later successfully claimed the ransom as a tax deductible business expense in court. During World War II,