The lawyer accompanied the family of Aldi Nord founder Theo Albrecht for almost five decades.
(Photo: picture alliance / Markus Scholz)
Dusseldorf For the family of Aldi founder Theo Albrecht, he was more than a lawyer. Although all central documents of Aldi Nord and the family bore his handwriting, Emil Huber’s actual task was not in any organizational chart. For almost 50 years, he was above all the most important friend and adviser to the billionaire family.
Emil Huber is now retiring to private life at the end of February shortly before his 78th birthday. The farewell of the discounter’s gray eminence is a turning point for Aldi Nord. “The group of companies looks at his life’s work, which Aldi Nord helped shape, with great respect,” the company said. The founder already trusted his advice and his expertise, which is why we owe him “a great deal of gratitude”.
In 1974 Huber entered the service of Theo Albrecht. And even after his death in 2010, he not only supported his sons Theo junior and Berthold on legal issues. “Mille” was his nickname, which his sons had given him early on.
The lawyer’s most important achievement was certainly the construction of the three foundations, named after the apostles Mark, Luke and James, into which the family contributed the company’s assets. In 1991 he officially assumed responsibility for the first time when he was appointed to the board of the central Markus Foundation.
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Huber created the legal basis for the Europe-wide expansion of the discounter, he was the main puller behind the scenes. In a greeting on his 70th birthday, Theo junior certifies that he is part of the “inventory” of the Aldi system.
The public hardly noticed anything about Huber’s work until a dispute after Berthold’s death in 2012 split the family. Theo junior and Berthold’s widow Babette fought through all court instances for power in the foundations – and thus for the disposal of billions in assets.
Wall to wall with Theo Albrecht junior
Babette’s daughters wanted to dominate the board of directors of the Jakobus Foundation, into which their father Berthold had contributed his fortune. Berthold had wanted to prevent this shortly before his death by changing the statutes. It was disputed whether he was still in a position to understand the scope of this decision at the time.
The problem with this: The three foundations have to decide together on the financing of the company and on all important strategic decisions. Discord can block the company’s future.
Emil Huber fought this dispute for Theo junior in court. And he won it. At the end of 2017, Judge Birgit Voß-Güntge at the Schleswig Higher Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit brought by Berthold Albrecht’s heirs, thereby helping Huber achieve a personal triumph. From his point of view, he had saved his life’s work – the stability of the Aldi Nord group of companies.
Theo Albrecht junior himself mostly stayed in the background throughout the dispute. The reclusive patriarch shies away from public appearances; there is only one photo of him taken years ago by a paparazzi. Only once did he make an exception to his reluctance: In an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper, he lashed out at his sister-in-law Babette and talked his frustration off his chest. He left everything else to “Mille”.
The argument brought Theo Albrecht junior and his right-hand man Huber even closer together. For decades, Huber worked from his law firm “Schmidt, von der Osten & Huber” for the discounter, practically as the external legal department of the retail empire. But during the argument with Babette and her children, he left the law firm and switched entirely to Aldi Nord.
He had his office next to Theo junior on the top floor of the Aldi headquarters in Essen-Kray. Now he is going private – and ends an era at the discounter.
More: Creeping revolution – why Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord are moving closer together