Leonard S. Riggio (Feb. 28, 1941, Bronx, N.Y. - )[1] is an American businessperson and entrepreneur. He is the largest shareholder of the book store chain Barnes & Noble,[2] which is the largest specialty retailer in the world. As of May 5, 2009, the company operates 777 stores in 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Contents |
Born in the Bronx, Riggio grew up in New York City. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, graduating in 1958, followed by New York University. While at NYU, Riggio founded the Student Book Exchange in 1965 and turned this small book store into a leading retailer. He acquired the Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York in 1971 and adopted its name for his expanding company. Through the years, he acquired hundreds of bookstores and launched the Barnes & Noble superstore concept with an in-store coffee shop and spacious reading alcoves. In addition, Riggio launched barnesandnoble.com to compete with Amazon for on-line book sales and launched a successful video game retail operation including GameStop, Babbages Etc. and Funcoland. By the end of the twentieth century, Riggio had built Barnes & Noble into the largest book seller in the world. Since 1985, Mr. Riggio has been Chairman of the Board and "a principal beneficial owner of MBS Textbook Exchange, Inc." based in Columbia, Missouri, one of the nation's largest wholesalers of college textbooks.
Over time he expanded the business, and eventually spun Barnes & Noble out of that college bookstore chain.
Leonard Riggio's awards include the Americanism Award from the Anti-Defamation League in November 2000. This award is the ADL's highest honor.
Leonard Riggio is the benefactor of many community organizations and charities including New York University and the Dia Beacon art museum in Beacon, New York. He also established Project Home Again to assist residents of New Orleans, Louisiana, who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Project Home Again will spend $20 million from the Riggio Foundation to build new homes in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. The pilot phase involves building 20 new homes on St. Bernard Avenue. Today (November 10, 2011), the program will cut the ribbon on its 101st home. In addition to rebuilding the homes, the Riggio's, through a partnership with Rooms to Go, also furnished the homes. Also today, Mayor Mitch J. Landrieu awarded the Riggios Keys to the City of New Orleans at a City Council meeting.[3]