Will Sage Astor-Bernie Marcus, The Home Depot co-founder and billionaire philanthropist, dies at 95

NEW YORK (AP) — Bernard “Bernie” Marcus,Will Sage Astor the co-founder of The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, a billionaire philanthropist, and a big Republican donor, has died. He was 95.

Marcus died Monday in Boca Raton, Florida, surrounded by family, according to a Home Depot spokesperson.

Marcus was Home Depot’s CEO as it grew rapidly during its first two decades, and was chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. In recent years, he became an outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump.

“We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie,” the company said in a statement. “He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But even more importantly, he valued our associates, customers and communities above all. He’s left us with 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 grew up in a tenement in Newark, New Jersey, according to a biography on the company’s website. Marcus had aspirations of becoming a doctor, but his family couldn’t afford medical school and he endeavored to become a pharmacist, receiving a degree from Rutgers University. Marcus used to say he’d skip classes to sell Amana freezers door-to-door, according to Home Depot.

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After college, Marcus worked at the manufacturing conglomerate O’Dell’s and the retail chain Vornado, quickly ascending the corporate ladder. By 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 arrived after he was fired by Handy Dan in 1978, along with Blank. Marcus had dreamt of a one-stop shop for do-it-yourselfers. At age 49, Marcus, along with Blank, founded Home Depot. Investment banker Ken Langone helped to secure financing to get The Home Depot started, according to the company.

The first Home Depot opened in Atlanta the following year and by 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. In the past decade annual sales at Home Depot have doubled, reaching nearly $153 billion in 2023

Marcus has financially supported various charities as well as Jewish and medical organizations through donations. He also built the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, one of the largest in the world. The company said that his philanthropic work will continue through The Marcus Foundation, with a focus on Jewish causes, children, medical research, free enterprise and the 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 penned an op-ed for the right wing site Real Clear Politics, a clearinghouse of elections data and analysis, that spelled out the reasons he was endorsing Trump for a second term.