German entrepreneur Theo Albrecht had an estimated net worth of $8.93 billion in January 2018. He ran Aldi, a global discount supermarket chain in Germany along with his brother, Karl. He was responsible for Aldi Nord (Aldi North) and its American counterpart, Trader Joe’s specialty grocery store chain, while his brother oversaw Aldi Sud.

Theodore Paul Albrecht was born on March 28, 1922 in Essen, Rhine Province, Germany. He was the owner and the Chief Executive Officer of Aldi, which now has two private chains. It used to be a single family enterprise, but today has more than 5,000 stores in nine European countries and the US.

In 1960, there was a friendly division of assets. Aldi and Trader Joe’s have separate and distinct ownership and operations. Today, his property is operated by his son, Theo Albrecht Jr., as well as his grandchildren from his deceased son, Berthold.

Theo Albrecht was a victim of kidnapping in 1971 and was abducted for 17 days. Seven million German marks or approximately $2 million during that time was paid for his release. Aside from this unfortunate event, little is known about the lives of the Albrecht brothers, as they both have been reportedly reclusive. Theo passed away on July 24, 2010 at the age of 88.