Aldi since 2009. Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common brand of two German family owned discount supermarket chains with over 10,000 stores in 20 countries, and an estimated combined turnover of more than €50 billion. Based in Germany, the chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 when they took over their mother's store in Essen, which had been in operation since 1913. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in Mülheim. In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic
Karl Albrecht the latter's death. Golf was one of his hobbies, and Albrecht played the sport on his own golf course, the Öschberghof, which he built in 1976. He also raised orchids. In 2014, Albrecht was listed as one of the richest people in the world with an estimated net worth of . Previously, "Forbes" magazine listed him as one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth in 2011 of , which ranked him 10th in its 2012 list of billionaires – making him the oldest billionaire in the Top 20 list. Albrecht was the richest person