Billionaire Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus dies at 95

Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, who grew up in New Jersey as the son of poor Russian immigrants and later co-founded and ran hardware store chain The Home Depot, died Monday at the age of 95.

Statements from The Home Depot and The Marcus Foundation did not reveal the cause of his death.

Marcus became a billionaire in 1997 through his stake in The Home Depot. Forbes estimates his net worth at $11 billion.

Marcus, a vocal supporter and donor to the Republican Party and its candidates and PACs, endorsed Donald Trump for president in an opinion piece in November 2023 RealClearPolitics.

Marcus, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Russia, grew up in a fourth-floor apartment building in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University in New Jersey and hoped to become a doctor. He was accepted into medical school at Harvard University but could not afford the admission fee. Instead, he completed his pharmacy degree at Rutgers University and worked in American companies, including in retail.

Marcus co-founded The Home Depot with Arthur Blank in 1978, when he was 49, after the two men were fired from regional hardware company Handy Dan Improvement Centers. Armed with financing from investment banker Ken Langone – Home Depot's third co-founder – Marcus and Blank opened their first two stores in Atlanta in 1979. Marcus served as the company's first CEO and then chairman; He retired in 2002. Today, The Home Depot employs more than 500,000 people in approximately 2,300 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico and had sales of almost $153 billion in 2023.

Marcus and his wife Billi were among the first to sign The Giving Pledge, a group of super-rich people who promise to donate at least half of their wealth to charity during their lifetime or in their will. (Billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett launched the Giving Pledge in 2010.) The couple donated to a variety of causes, including healthcare, veterans, Israel and Jewish causes. Beneficiaries include the Marcus Autism Center, part of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, to which Bernie and Billi donated $250 million.

In September this year Forbes presented Bernie and Billi Marcus with the Lifetime Achievement Award for their generous philanthropy. Forbes' annual list of the top 25 donors ranks the couple among the country's most generous philanthropists Forbes at more than $1.7 billion.

Marcus is survived by his wife Billi and two sons, Frederick Marcus and Michael Morris. He was preceded in death by his daughter Susanne Marcus Collins.