Karl Albrecht Jr

Karl Hans Albrecht Jr (born 1948 in Essen) is a German millionaire and the son of Karl Albrecht, who, along with his brother Theo, created the inexpensive grocery business Aldi. Karl Hans Albrecht Jr held several positions at Aldi Süd until his departure owing to a cancer diagnosis (from which he subsequently recovered). He and his sister Beate Heister run the Siepmann Stiftung (named after their mother), which in turn runs Aldi Süd, which is the source of their shared fortune. Gabriele Mertes is his wife, and they have no children. Aldi, originally Albrecht-Diskont, has ruled the profitable German low-cost grocery industry for decades, with over 8,000 outlets in a dozen countries, unbroken development, and a policy of cutting product prices and running costs to an absolute minimum. They created their own Aldi grocery chain on a low-price approach akin to Wal-Mart, spreading the bargain revolution in German retail.

Despite pioneering the own-brand product, which was anathema to name-brand addicted western buyers until the end of the twentieth century but is now a regular sight on store shelves the world over, Aldi began sprinkling in several strategic 'big name' brands, such as Coca-Cola, in 2012. However, this does not imply that Aldi suddenly stocked a variety of items—you won't find eight different types of olive oil here. As of March 2021, Karl Hans Albrecht Jr was ranked 23rd among the world's wealthiest people, with a net worth of US $37 billion. The Aldi recipe for success has developed in tandem with consumer tastes, and it's evident that, in the age of the coronavirus, people are more concerned than ever about their spending habits, which bodes well for Albrecht Jr.

Net worth: $37 billion

Country: Germany