The $40 billion supermarket dynasty behind Trader Joe’s is feuding after the founder’s wife moved to cut her grandchildren out of the business for their lavish spending

REUTERS/Michael Dalder

A supermarket dynasty worth almost $40 billion is feuding after the founder’s wife moved to cut her grandchildren and their mother out of the company in her will, accusing them of lavish spending.
Cäcilie Albrecht accused five of her late son’s children and his widow of siphoning money from company funds to fund luxurious lifestyles. They deny these claims.
Albrecht wrote in her will about the importance of "setting aside self-interests and practising a modest and abstemious way of life."
Albrecht’s late husband Theo and his brother Karl turned their mother’s corner grocery store in Germany into an international supermarket chain worth billions, but have remained famously quiet and frugal.
The Albrecht family is behind Aldi and US discounter Trader Joe’s.

The European supermarket dynasty behind Aldi and Trader Joe’s is feuding after the wife of one of the founders moved to cut her grandchildren and daughter-in-law out of the company in her will, over their lavish spending which reportedly included art and vintage cars.

Cäcilie Albrecht — the wife of Theo Albrecht, who cofounded German supermarket giant Aldi with his brother Karl — accused the five children of her late son, Berthold, along with his widow, Babette, of extravagant spending out of line with the family’s well-known frugal philosophy.

In her will, she accused Babette and her children of siphoning €100 million ($112 million) from one of the company’s foundations to fund luxurious spending, UK newspaper The Guardian reported.

She accused them of blocking company decision making, and said that they should have no role in the future of the company. Due to the secretive nature of Aldi’s operating structure, it is unclear if her wish will be put into action and the family members barred from involvement in the company.

The family members named in Cäcilie’s will deny the claims and any wrongdoing.

Andreas Urban, the lawyer of Babette Albrecht and her children said in a statement: "Piety and decency dictate that this will should not be publicly evaluated."

Cäcilie Albrecht died in November 2018 at age 92, having helped Theo and his brother Karl turn their mother’s small grocery store in Essen, Germany into an international supermarket chain that raised the family’s net worth to an estimated $38.8 billion in 2018, according to Bloomberg. Her husband Theo died in 2010.

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The family is notoriously secretive, and little to nothing is known about Theo and Karl as they never granted interviews or made public statements about their wealth or businesses.

In her will, published by German newspaper BILD, Albrecht referenced the family’s typically frugal philosophy: "With this document I undertake to ensure the preservation of the philosophy of our family, which is to serve the consortium Aldi Nord and to foster this, at the same time as setting aside self-interests and practising a modest and abstemious way of life."

She said that her son, Berholdt, Babette’s husband, had "concerns" over his children’s understanding of the family’s hard work, according to The Guardian.

"Berthold himself said when he was alive that he had considerable doubts as to the suitability of his children to respect the life’s work of my husband who, with my support, built the consortium Aldi Nord, and to serve it with respect and with responsibility towards its thousands of employees," she said.

Babette had been shunned by some members of the family for buying art and vintage cars, and for her well-connected lifestyle that has included an appearence of a reality TV competition called "Let’s Dance," according to The Guardian.

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Aldi, short for Albrecht Discount, split in half in 1960, creating Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord. The split came after a disagreement between Karl and Theo Albrecht about whether to sell cigarettes.

Aldi Süd now operates in the US, the UK, Ireland, China, and Australia, while Aldi Nord operates in Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.

The Albrecht family also owns Trader Joe’s, the US discount grocer with nearly 500 stores and $13 billion in annual revenue.

Cäcilie Albrecht sat on the board of the Markus foundation, which holds 61% of Aldi Nord’s shares, until she died, The Guardian reported.

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