Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio dies at 83

Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio, who transformed his one-time bookstore into a major national institution, died in New York City on Tuesday at the age of 83, the company announced.

Reggio died “after a courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease,” according to a statement from his family.

Riggio's nearly half-century of reckless rule began in 1971 when he used a $1.2 million loan to buy the Barnes & Noble name and flagship store on Lower Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

“His leadership spanned decades, during which he not only helped grow the company, but also fostered a culture of innovation and a love of reading,” Barnes & Noble said in a statement.

“Lynn's vision and entrepreneurial spirit have changed the retail landscape.”

He acquired hundreds of new stores over the next twenty years, and in the 1990s launched what became a national empire of “department stores” that combined discount prices and huge capacity with the cozy appeal of sofas, reading chairs and coffee shops.

“Our libraries were designed to be welcoming, not intimidating,” Riggio told The New York Times in 2016. “They weren’t elitist places. You could come in, get a cup of coffee, sit down, read a book as long as you wanted, and use the bathroom. These were innovations that no one thought were possible.”

He took the company public in 1993 and then opened a large number of stores. Barnes & Noble was opening more than one new store a week in 1997.

“It was a huge leap forward because it helped bring hardcover books, which had previously been items traded by boxcar, to the mass market.” Publishing veteran Lawrence Kirschbaum said in a 2023 interview,“Barnes & Noble brought reading into living rooms outside of major urban centers.”

The series became so powerful that it was blamed for putting smaller independent bookstores out of business.

In 1992, Riggio told the Wall Street Journal, “Why should I be a predator, but if a nice independent bookstore opens a branch, it’s like welcoming Christ?” “I think every new bookstore should be celebrated, regardless of its pedigree.”

Riggio has dedicated his life to literacy, education, and the arts, supporting organizations including the Children's Defense Fund, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Dia Museum of Contemporary Art in North Beacon.

He also founded a nonprofit called Project Home Again with his wife, Louise. The charity built and donated 101 homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.

Reggio has lived in New York all his life, growing up in Brooklyn and educated at New York University, where he worked in the college library.

He dropped out of college in 1965 to open his first bookstore, SBX, or Student Book Exchange.

His father was a taxi driver and professional fighter who defeated Rocky Graziano twice, which perhaps explains why the library's founder is often described by the media as “fierce” or “brave.”

Reggio lived in an apartment on Park Avenue and owned a Tudor-style mansion in Bridgehampton with a sculpture garden.

He served as grand marshal of the 2017 New York City Columbus Day Parade and mingled with friends like singer Tony Bennett and former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.

“My nationality is New York City,” he told BusinessWeek in 1998. “I don’t mean I’m a New Yorker in the New York Times sense, but I mean it in the Horatio Alger sense.

Barnes & Noble began to take a revenue hit due to increased online competition and the failed Nook e-reader project in the late 2000s.

Riggio sold the company in 2019 to Elliott, an activist investor group founded by billionaire Paul Singer.

He stepped down from B&N in 2016, remaining optimistic about the company's future and determined to retain his significant stake despite stiff competition from Amazon and the e-book industry.

“There was always a sadness and gloom about the future of the book industry, but it still goes on,” Riggio told The Post in 2016.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters and four grandchildren.