NEW YORK (AP) — Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the co-founder of The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, a billionaire philanthropist and a major Republican donor, has died. He was 95.
Marcus died Monday in Boca Raton, Florida, surrounded by family, a Home Depot spokesperson said.
Marcus was the CEO of Home Depot as the company grew rapidly during its first two decades, and served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. In recent years, he became an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump.
“We owe Bernie immeasurable gratitude,” the company said in a statement. “He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But more importantly, he valued our employees, customers and communities above all. He left us an invaluable legacy and the backbone of our company: our values and culture. ”
The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Marcus was born in 1929 and raised in a tenement in Newark, New Jersey, according to a biography on the company’s website. Marcus aspired to become a doctor, but his family could not afford medical school and he tried to become a pharmacist, earning a degree from Rutgers University. According to Home Depot, Marcus used to say he skipped classes to sell Amana freezers door to door.
After college, Marcus worked at manufacturing conglomerate O’Dell’s and retail chain Vornado, where he quickly climbed the corporate ladder. In 1972, Marcus was chairman and president of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, part of the Daylin conglomerate. It was there that Marcus formed a lifelong friendship with Arthur Blank.
The big moment in his career came after he and Blank were fired by Handy Dan in 1978. Marcus dreamed of a one-stop shop for do-it-yourselfers. At the age of 49, Marcus co-founded Home Depot with Blank. Investment banker Ken Langone helped secure the financing to get The Home Depot up and running, according to the company.
The first Home Depot opened the following year in Atlanta, and in 1981 the company went public and began selling stock. There are now more than 2,000 Home Depot stores and the company employs more than 500,000 people. Over the past decade, annual sales at Home Depot have doubled, reaching nearly $153 billion by 2023
Marcus has financially supported various charities and Jewish and medical organizations through donations. He also built the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, one of the largest in the world. The company said its philanthropic work will continue through The Marcus Foundation, with an emphasis on Jewish causes, children, medical research, free enterprise and community.
Marcus was a vocal and financial supporter of Donald Trump, donating nearly $5 million to the Republican Party between 2016 and 2020, according to OpenSecrets, an organization that tracks political spending. Last year, Marcus wrote an op-ed for the right-wing site Real Clear Politics, a clearinghouse for election data and analysis, detailing why he supported Trump for a second term.
