Lee B. Stern (born December 27, 1926) is the longest tenured trader at the
Chicago Board of Trade
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...
. He has been one of the most successful traders in the commodities market throughout his time there, and is well known for his involvement in the Chicago sports scene as well. He was the President of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
's
Chicago Sting
The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...
, and is currently a director and minority owner of the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
.
Early life
Born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family, Stern attended
Senn High School
Senn High School is a public four-year high school located in the Edgewater neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Senn is operated by the Chicago Public Schools system and was opened on 3 February 1913. The school ...
.
Upon graduation in 1945, he attended the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
and enlisted in the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
cadet program and reported for active duty in 1945. After serving two years including a stint in the army of occupation in Germany, he attended
Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The unive ...
in Chicago, before starting at the Chicago Board of Trade. Lee married Norma Retchin in 1951. They have 4 children, 11 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
Professional success
Stern began his career as a clerk for
Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
in December 1947. After a successful run of twenty years in futures and options trading, Stern opened a
clearing firm, Lee B. Stern & Company in 1967.
Soccer
Stern founded the
Chicago Sting
The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...
of the
NASL and
MISL
The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...
in 1974 and led the team until it folded in 1988. In their 14-year history, the Sting won two NASL championships (
Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...
), in 1981 and 1984. Stern also served as Chairman of the NASL Executive Committee in 1981 and 1982 as well as Chairman of the MISL Executive Committee from 1986 - 1988. Stern was a member of the U.S. World Cup Founder's Club which and served as one of the major participants in bringing the World Cup to Chicago. He was inducted into the
National Soccer Hall of Fame
The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...
on October 25, 2003.
Baseball
Stern has also been long-associated with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
, where he is a minority owner and serves on the team's board of directors.
Chicago White Sox front office
Last Visited 1/19/09
Victim of illegal activities
On October 22, 1992, Darrell Zimmerman Darrell Zimmerman is a Canadian free jazz musician, activist and a former floor trader convicted of wire fraud. The "Zimmerman Rule", named for him, prevents individuals who trade in the Chicago exchanges to profit from trades made over stipulated l ...
of Chicago, Illinois and Anthony Catalfo
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton ...
of Bayside, Queens, New York, attempted to manipulate the US Treasury bond futures and options market of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The gist of the scam was to depress prices long enough for Zimmerman and Catalfo to turn a sizable profit. Catalfo reportedly profited approximately $1,500,000 but Zimmerman lost nearly $9,000,000, for which his clearing firm, Lee B. Stern & Company, would be held liable. After an initial suspension of trading and clearing privileges, Lee B. Stern & Company, Lee Stern, son Daniel Stern, and Lester Moucher, the three principals of the Lee B. Stern & Company, the Chicago Board of Trade had the suspension expunged on October 28, 1992.
A CBOT arbitration panel found Zimmerman and Catalfo guilty of fraud and conspiracy, fining Zimmerman $1,500,000 and Catalfo $750,000 and ordered them jointly liable to Lee B. Stern & Co. for $8.6 million in damages. On July 6, 1994, Catalfo was found guilty of six counts of wire fraud by a Federal jury and sentenced to 42 months in prison. Zimmerman fled to Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, BC Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and fought extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
.
Redemption
Stern, now president of LBS Limited Partnership, celebrated his 70th anniversary as a Chicago Board of Trade
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...
member on November 8, 2019.
Stern has been quoted as saying his motto is: "You can't buy integrity and once you lose it no amount of money can buy it back."
Stern's other motto is "Take care of number one and then number two will take care of itself."
References
External links
Meet the World's Longest Serving Futures Trader
from CME's Open Markets website
* ttp://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=7th&navby=case&no=942562 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANTHONY CATALFO at FindLaw
CCX Member, Lee Stern, Looks Back at 55-Years as a Chicago Board of Trade Member
on the Chicago Climate Exchange
The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) was a voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil.
CCX employed independent verification, included six greenhous ...
Web site from th
John Lothian Newsletter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Lee
1926 births
Living people
American financiers
20th-century American Jews
Chicago White Sox owners
Chicago Sting
American commodities traders
Major League Baseball owners
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives
Roosevelt University alumni
University of Illinois alumni
American soccer chairmen and investors
National Soccer Hall of Fame members
21st-century American Jews