He was best known as the chair of the board of credit-card giant MBNA and the owner of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL).
[1] While attending Columbia College, Lerner was initiated into the Delta chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.
He tried unsuccessfully to sell the bank's most successful unit, credit card issuer MBNA, to raise cash.
In 1991, he took MBNA public, investing $100 million of his own money to ensure the success of the initial sale of stock.
He was also the chairman of Town and Country Trust,[3] which owns and operates more than 15,000 apartment units in the mid-Atlantic region.
It was very clear from the stuff that we saw that Lerner egged him on and supported his decision to leave and then tried to run away from responsibility when the shit hit the fan.”[6] The two stopped talking shortly thereafter.
[12] Lerner was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001 and that May underwent surgery, spending most of his last year in and out of hospitals.
[11] His favorite charities were the Cleveland Clinic and his alma mater Columbia University, both of which received multiple large gifts.
[14][3] Lerner's estate also donated $10 million toward the construction of the National Museum of the Marine Corps.