Family feud tears apart Aldi Nord shareholders

There is a huge power struggle going on in the ranks of Aldi Nord’s family shareholders, between Theo Albrecht Jr. and his brother’s widow, Babette. The target: who gets to decide what to do with the foundations that control the discount imperium’s inheritance?

No more discretion

Absolute discretion had been the discount family’s life motto for decades, but that has been turned to rubble now. Babette launched a painful court case against her brother-in-law Theo Jr, who hit back with a letter to magazine Stern and an interview in Handelsblatt. Absolutely unprecedented moves for the Albrecht family.

What is actually going on? A major fight over who has control over one of founder Theo Albrecht Senior’s three family foundations. Those contain the family’s fortune, some 18.5 billion euro according to Forbes, and all three (one for the mother and 1 for each son) had to agree on every strategic company decision, all created in such a manner that it would benefit the company.

Theo convinced his brother to change his foundation’s articles to avoid his sister-in-law Babette from gaining control after Berthold’s passing. Babette is known to have a very flamboyant lifestyle, which is considered to be very un-Aldi like. However, both Babette and her five children had no idea the articles had been changed and she feels Theo abused her husband’s prolonged illness. Theo on the other hand feels his sister-in-law only wants power (and therefore money).

“My brother would turn in his grave”

Babette and her children demand the articles to be rewritten to their original state, but Theo Jr. resists any such action. He feels she could then “lead the company by its nose-ring around the riding school and it would give her unlimited leverage”, he explained in German business paper Handelsblatt. “My brother would turn in his grave if he found out what is happening. My sister-in-law’s embarrassing public displays and her lawsuits are very taxing for our company.”

Contemplating on his own part in this, he says “he only wishes to defend his brother’s will and the spirit of the Foundation.” He feels his father created that structure to safeguard the company from anyone family member who thrives to gain more control. “That is what I am battling for.”

To clarify: the struggle is only in the Albrecht family’s ranks in Aldi Nord (which includes Aldi in Belgium). Karl Albrecht’s family (in Aldi Süd) is not involved whatsoever.