Leonard S. Riggio (born February 28, 1941) is a retired American businessman and entrepreneur. He served as executive chairman of book store chain Barnes & Noble and was its largest shareholder from 1971 until the sale of the company to the hedge fund Elliott Advisors in 2019. Under his leadership the company expanded significantly from a single retail location on 105 Fifth Avenue, New York to a nationwide chain with 600+ stores, which it did with acquisitions and mergers of competing chain stores.