Exceedingly rich, excessively thrifty, and obsessively reclusive Theodor Paul Albrecht co-founded, with his elder brother, Karl, the discount supermarket chain Aldi, so successfully that he became, after his brother, the richest man in Germany. But this came at a great price. After his sensational kidnapping in 1971 and his release on the payment of a ransom, he was barely ever seen in public again.
Born in the city of Essen, in the Ruhr Valley of West Germany, his early life was tough, which may explain his life-long parsimony. His father was forced to abandon his work as a miner due to emphysema, and his mother opened a small grocery to sustain the family. Both brothers were conscripted; Theo worked in supplies with Rommel's Afrika Korps. After the war, Karl and Theo began opening a succession of grocery stores.
Their policy was "best quality, lowest price". By 1960 they had 300 stores in Germany, and the following year they named their company Aldi, a contraction of Albrecht discount.
In the late 1960s, the brothers decided to divide their empire, prompted by a disagreement over the sale of cigarettes at the check-out. Karl believed it would attract shoplifters and affect profits. Karl assumed control of Aldi-Sud, Theo Aldi-Nord, with agreement that they would not compete - at home, or abroad.
In 1971 a Dusseldorf lawyer, in strife with gambling debts, kidnapped Theo at gunpoint and held him in his legal office for 17 days. So unprepossessing did his captive look, that the kidnapper at first demanded to see his ID. The kidnapping lasted longer because Theo haggled over the sum. A ransom of £1.5 million was paid and Theo released. The lawyer was captured and half the ransom recovered. Theo later claimed a tax deduction for the ransom on the basis it was a business expense.
The brothers' frugality was legion. They would use pencil stubs to take notes, and remonstrated with executives presenting plans for a store in the Netherlands, saying the paper on which they were written was "too thick".
Aldi's pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap approach worked brilliantly. Aldi-Nord expanded into Europe and the United States, where it had acquired the Trader Joe's grocery chain in 1979. Aldi-Sud moved into the UK and Australia. By 2009, the group had almost 9,400 stores and a turnover of more than £40 billion.
Forbes magazine estimated Theo's wealth in March 2010 at £10.7 billion, making him the 31st richest man in the world. He had been ninth richest in 2009, an indication of falling profits and the increasing success of other retailers, including Lidl and Real.
Both brothers lived on the remote North Sea island of Foehr. The last known photograph of Theo was taken in 1988 and it is claimed that in 65 years he submitted to only three interviews. For some years the group was managed by family-appointed executives. Succession is unclear. Although Theo's two sons, Theo and Berthold, worked for Aldi-Nord, neither occupied senior positions. Both sons and their uncle, Karl, survive Theo, who was 88.
Theodor Paul Albrecht was born 28 March 1922, and died 24 July 2010.
* The National
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: M'A Yaromoon, Jesus Rosales (jockey), Khalifa Al Neydai (trainer)
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: No Riesgo Al Maury, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Mahmouda, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AS Jezan, George Buckell, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Dolman, Antonio Fresu, Bhupath Seemar
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.