Leonard N. Stern
| Leonard Stern | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Leonard Norman Stern March 28, 1938 New York City, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | B.A. New York University |
| Occupation | Chairman and CEO of The Hartz Group |
| Net worth |
 $5.4 billion (March 2015) |
| Spouse(s) | Judith Stern Peck (divorced) Allison Maher |
| Children | 3 with Peck: --Emanuel T. Stern --Edward J. Stern --Andrea C. Stern |
Leonard Norman Stern (born March 28, 1938) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.
He is the chairman and CEO of the privately owned Hartz Group based in New York City. The company's real estate portfolio was owned and operated under its Hartz Mountain Industries subsidiary company, of which he is also chairman and CEO.
Stern was born to a Jewish family, the son of Hilda (née Lowenthal) and Max Stern. Max Stern was the German-born vice-chairman of the board of trustees of Yeshiva University for whom its Stern College for Women was named. He had emigrated from Weimar Germany to the U.S. in the 1920s after his textile business proved unprofitable, bringing along 2,100 canaries from Germany to sell on the U.S. market. By selling caged birds, bird cages and other pet bird supplies to U.S. pet owners through Woolworth's stores over the next thirty years, Stern's father built up the family business: Hartz Mountain Corporation (HMC), also headquartered in Secaucus, NJ. HMC later grew to become the flagship subsidiary of The Hartz Group. The business was named after the Harz Mountains of Germany. Though Canaries originally come from the Canary Islands the Canaries in trade are the result of selective breeding by farms located at Harz.
In 1957, Stern graduated from New York University (NYU).
Stern's initially inherited his wealth from his father. He gradually purchased his brother's and sister's share of the family business, Hartz Mountain, and by the early 1960s, exercised absolute control of Hartz Mountain Corporation (HMC). Hartz Mountain Corporation then began to capture the pet supply market that catered to both dog and cat owners and parakeet and canary owners. By 1984, Hartz Mountain Corporation (HMC) controlled 75% to 90% of the U.S. market for most U.S. pet supply goods. Its pet supply business was estimated to be worth $400 million and was earning $40 million in annual profits.
According to the unsigned cover article, "Dynasty In Distress" in the February 9, 2004 issue of Business Week, Stern was "intensely engaged" as a board member of Rite Aid in the mid-to-late '90s when the drugstore chain admitted to overstating net income by $1 billion over two years.
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