German discount retailer Aldi has revealed that co-founder Karl Albrecht passed away on wednesday 16 July, at the age of 94.
Albrecht effectively founded Aldi (short for Albrecht's Discount) with his brother Theo shortly after the Second World War, after expanding their mother's grocery store into a chain of shops - eventually dividing this into Aldi Süd (owned by Karl) and Aldi Nord (owned by Theo) in 1961.
Karl stepped away from everyday operations at Aldi Süd in 1975, and resigned as chief executive in 1993.
At the time of his death, Forbes Magazine's most recent billionaire's list marked him as the 24th richest, with a fortune valued at US$25.9bn.
Theo passed away in 2010.
