Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the billionaire Home Depot cofounder and a Republican megadonor, who in recent years became an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, has died, the company announced Tuesday. He was 95.
“The entire Home Depot family is deeply saddened by the death of our cofounder Bernie Marcus,” The Home Depot said in a statement. “We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie.”
Marcus, who had a net worth of about $7.4 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, gained his fortune from establishing The Home Depot with Arthur Blank in 1978. The duo grew the orange-clad hardware store into a retail behemoth that now has 2,300 stores and a stock market valuation of nearly $400 billion.
Born in 1929 in Newark, New Jersey, to Russian Jewish immigrants, Marcus was the youngest of four siblings. He earned his degree in merchandising and marketing at Rutgers University and went into the retailing industry working for various chains.
He met Blank when they worked at Handy Dan Home Improvement, a chain in California. They both were fired after new management came in, so the duo hatched a plan to start a new chain that was bigger than traditional hardware stores with better-trained staff. Then, the Home Depot was born.
Blank said in a statement that he’s “heartbroken at the passing of my dearest friend” and that Marcus’ “tremendous commitment to so many causes will live on, as will the immeasurable impact on countless individuals and families who have been blessed by his giving heart.”
“While this loss is profoundly painful, I am grateful for the close to 60 years we spent together, navigating challenges and celebrating successes, and I am honored to have been part of Bernie’s remarkable life,” Blank said.
Marcus was Home Depot’s CEO until 1997 and served as the company’s chairman until his retirement in 2002.
The Home Depot got its start in Atlanta, a city where Marcus was a well-known philanthropist with his wife Billi. The pair started the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University, which helps kids with developmental disabilities.
Marcus has also donated to several charities, Jewish and medical organizations, in addition to a $250 million grant that helped opened the famous Georgia Aquarium in 2005. Marcus also helped establish the Marcus Trauma Center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, as well as the Marcus Heart and Vascular Center at Piedmont Hospital.
“He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But even more importantly, he valued our associates, customers and communities above all,” the company said. “He’s left us with an invaluable legacy and the backbone of our company: our values.”
An outspoken Republican, Marcus has donated millions of dollars to the campaigns of right-wing politicians, including the late John McCain, current Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Trump.
Later in his life, he frequently made appearances on right-wing television shows on Fox News and Fox Business, often talking about his support of Trump’s presidential aspirations. Some Trump opponents attempted to launch a boycott of The Home Depot in 2016 and in 2019 because of Marcus’ support of the Republican nominee for president.
Marcus also said in 2022 in an interview with the Financial Times that he was “worried about capitalism” and that because of what he called the spread of “socialism” in America, “nobody works. Nobody gives a damn. ‘Just give it to me. Send me money. I don’t want to work — I’m too lazy, I’m too fat, I’m too stupid.’”
“We used to have free speech here. We don’t have it,” Marcus told the newspaper. “The woke people have taken over the world. You know, I imagine today they can’t attack me. I’m 93. Who gives a crap about Bernie Marcus?”
This story has been updated with additional context and developments.
