Leonard I. Green
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Leonard I. Green | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1934 United States |
| Died | 2002 (aged 68) Venice, Italy |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder of leveraged buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners |
| Spouse | Jude Risk Green (divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Leonard I. Green (1934–2002) was an American businessman who was the founding partner of leveraged buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners and chairman of the board of the Los Angeles Opera.
Green was raised in Philadelphia, to a Jewish family.[1] In 1955, he earned a B.A. in economics from Cornell University and in 1956, graduated with an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Graduate School.[2] In 1965, he received a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University in Chicago.[3]
Career
In 1969, Green co-founded the New York investment banking partnership, Gibbons, Green, van Amerongen, which specialized in management-led, non-hostile leveraged buyouts.[2] In 1980, he moved to California and opened a branch office. In 1989, he left Gibbons, Green, van Amerongen and founded Leonard Green & Partners based in Los Angeles.[2] In 1992, Green's firm paid $40 million for Thrifty Drugs and in 1994, they purchased Payless Drugs for $1.2 billion, merging the two companies to form the largest drugstore chain in the Western U.S. with more than 1,080 outlets, Thrifty Payless.[4] In April 1996, Thrifty Payless went public and then in October 1996, it was sold to Rite Aid for $2.3 billion netting Green's firm a $420 million profit.[4] Other companies that the firm acquired while Green was chairman were Carr-Gottstein Foods Co., Australian Resources Limited, and Big 5 Sporting Goods.[1]