Leonard Norman Stern (born March 28, 1938)[1] is an American billionaire businessman, and philanthropist.
[5] By 1984, Hartz Mountain Corporation (HMC) controlled 75% to 90% of the U.S. market for most U.S. pet supply goods [citation needed].
[6] Additional alternative weeklies were also purchased, forming Stern Publishing, which was sold in 2000 to a venture capital group.
[7] 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.
[8] Stern was named in several class action suits[specify] in which investors claimed that he and other directors had breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders.
A separate lawsuit, filed by Kevin Mann, the son of the original founder and former executive vice-president, alleged that Stern used his influence to increase shelf space in Rite Aid stores for Hartz's pet products at the expense of competitors.