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ALDI STORES IRELAND confirmed this evening that the German company’s famously reclusive founder, Karl Albrecht, has died at the age of 94.
Albrecht died on 16 July, but was buried earlier today in a family plot in a small ceremony in the Bredeney district of Essen, near where he lived, AP reports.
The supermarket tycoon was born in the German city of Essen in 1920, and with his brother Theo, started off selling buns on the streets.
Drafted into the Wehrmacht, the two were taken prisoner by Allied forces in World War II, but after returning home, took over their mother’s corner shop, eventually expanding it into a global low-cost grocery empire.
Aldi – which comes from “Albrecht Discount” – currently has thousands of outlets in 17 countries throughout the world, a growth which brought Albrecht an estimated personal fortune of $25.9 billion, and placed him 24th in this year’s Forbes Rich List.
Although in Ireland it lags behind major supermarkets like Tesco, SuperValu and Dunnes Stores, the German company – which has 108 outlets here – recently reached a record high share of the Irish market.
Albrecht split management of the company with his brother Theo in 1961, taking over Aldi Sud, while Theo ran Aldi Nord.
The two were intensely private individuals, who carefully stayed out of the public eye, a tendency that was reinforced after Theo was briefly kidnapped for ransom in 1971.
A statement this evening from Aldi Ireland described his life as a “modest” one.
Karl Albrecht preferred to avoid public attention and rejected any honours awarded to him, always pointing toward the success achieved by his employees.Karl Albrecht deliberately chose to live a modest life, despite his success, out of the limelight.
Albrecht gave up his oversight of Aldi Sud after he turned 75, and retired from business altogether in 2002. Theo died in 2010.
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The Irish Proclamation basically says ”Ireland for the Irish”,,, the politicians of today would do well to remember that,,,
@Finian McG:Politicians off ALL the partys!
@Finian McG: you may interpret it that way if you want but a hundred years on that thinking just won’t wash…
@David Cotter: Well they died to get people OUT of Ireland,,,certianly NOT to bring a load of them in!!!
@Finian McG: yet hundreds of thousands of Irish went to England after that war because Ireland was a basket case…..what an embarrassment that was….
@Finian McG: They are long dead, what they thought is irrelevant! It’s now we live and folks would do well to remember that and try to get to grips with the now instead of trying to reflect the past!
@David Cotter: For them maybe, they are dead and gone, it’s therefore no longer an embarrassment as you mistakenly think but a practical necessity which generally considerably outweighs embarrassment tbf.
@Finian McG: Define ‘Irish’?
Some difference between the leaders of 1916,and the modern day politicians. Worlds apart
@Jb Walshe: Current leaders don’t have guns
@Sal Paradise: Or a clue what they’re at!
@Jb Walshe: Could you list the differences for the crowd? Doubt it ngl!
@Jb Walshe: The leaders of 16 knew they were involved in a fools errand.
Padraig Pearce and all the men and women who fought for our countries freedom would turn in their graves if the saw what’s happening today.
@John doe: that man along with de Valera made sure we were beaten with an iron fist, unfortunately we have FF still
@John doe: They won’t you needn’t worry!
And the state of the country now
@Fintan Pox: Class country. Pearse and co. world new so proud. We have made huge strides in the past 100yrs. But you have a moan to keep yourself happy.
@Sal Paradise: lol
@Fintan Pox: Easter Eggs and complaining on The Journal. You must have had a great day?
@Fintan Pox: compared to mass poverty, tenement houses, Magdalene laundries etc??
@Sal Paradise: dream on
Patriots of 1916 must be turning in their graves with the organisation that stole the SF name who act as cheerleaders for the depraved actions of Provo terrorists who engaged in murder, rape and abuse.
@Pat Hazzard: And the brits and loyalists were just victims and innocent too….I do love when people try to rewrite history, the RA were no angels, but given who they were fighting, both sides were as bad as each other, but the shinners living rent free in your head seems to forget that part
@Tom Newell: ‘who they were fighting’ they planted bombs, executed ‘off duty’ security forces, engaged in sectarian murder along the border farms, shot into churches, work vans, hotels. ‘Fighting’ catch yourself on. They were sectarian murdering thugs. Nothing more.
Absolute traitors the lot of them. The very, very worst.
@Paul Kavanagh: all they’re worried about is when their next pat on the head from the EU or woke NGOs is coming.
They’re sellouts
“The 1916 proclamation was read out in full by Captain Paul Murphy, who learned it off by heart”. Well, why did he need to read it out, then?
@Max: maybe he was dyslexic…..
The patriots of 1916 would be very angry at the INEQUALITY shown by our politicans to the citizens of Ireland. After the next general election 11 people will be gifted a job as a Senator. Millions of Irish citizens DO NOT GET A VOTE with regards to choosing members of the Senate. And the politicans wonder why the people are angry. Enda Kenny picked a friend of his who was and still lives in AMERICA.
@rory Mcgovern: No they wouldn’t.
@rory Mcgovern: we had a vote to abolish the seanad , people voted against it
No sign of Jeffrey ?
@Sat Nav Maps: No answer from his door in London, either.
@Sat Nav Maps: Benzos?
Considering there are irish people of all 360 degrees of whatever all over the planet and yet a few frightened little right wing manboys, think this island is overcrowded because of a few migrants
@Robert Halvey: your a Manboy….
@Robert Halvey: not overcrowded if that’s the way you want to put it, just homelessness increasing regardless of were you’re from but sure let’s increase homelessness some more and sit wondering why.
The Seanad was supposed to have been reformed. It has NOT BEEN. AMAZING and SAD what the population accepts. Mickey d has spent too long in the Arus if he thinks that the values of 1916 proclamation still true today..He will be shocked next year when he has to start spending his own money.
@rory Mcgovern: I doubt it. The little faux-socialist, naval gazer will be on a fine fat pension. Can’t wait to see the back of him and his token wife.
Retire Mick ffs u agreed to 1 term..
Flags and borders will be the last remnants of a bygone age. Money, wealth, power, all badly handled be the simple human mind. Still we don’t fix the problems that affect us on a daily basis or consider the vastness of the universe and how to access it… lads are
like ‘this shiny is mine’… we wait
The men who fought for that would be rolling in their graves. We have had the country 108 years and are giving it away to non nationals and Muslims and Islam’s. Ridiculous and heart breaking
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