Leonard Riggio, founder and former chairman of Barnes & Noble, has died at age 83 on August 27, 2024 in New York, after battling with Alzheimer’s disease. Riggio was born on February 28, 1941 in Manhattan. He founded Barnes & Noble in 1971. At the height of his career, the companies totaled more than 5,000 retail stores nationwide and employed more than 100,000 people.