Theo Albrecht Jr: is there a family office?

This article directly stems from the research process for our European single family office database. Our list of venture capital focused single family offices includes the most important family investment vehicles that invest in promising startups, amongst others within the travel and hospitality sector.

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Theo inherited one of the world’s largest grocery franchises Aldi, which was founded by his father Theo Sr in 1913. His father split the ownership with his brother, Karl Sr in 1961 and as a result, Theo Sr inherited all of the stores in northern Germany and the rest of Europe (Aldi North). As of February 2023, Theo Jr has an estimated net worth of $16.3bn putting him the 105th richest person in the world according to Forbes. In this article, we will investigate how Theo manages his wealth.

Theo manages wealth through the Markus foundation which operates the grocery franchises

Theo is the owner of Aldi Nord and Trader Joe’s which are managed by the Markus foundation, which was bought by his father in 1971. The two companies generated a combined revenue of $50.7bn in 2021 and operate over 6,000 stores worldwide. Theo Jr and his late brother Berthold each received half of their father’s fortune, Theo Jr is still serving on the supervisory board of Aldi North. Theo Jr aims to further expand Aldi’s position in the American market, with plans to become the third largest grocery chain behind Walmart and Kroger. The Markus Foundation, operated by the Albrecht family owns 61% of Aldi North. The foundation was founded by Theo Sr in 1873 with the purpose of making one-off or ongoing donations to maintain, promote and expand the group of companies set up by Theo Sr.

Picture source: Marques Thomas

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