Bernie Marcus, Home Depot Co-Founder, Dies at 95 in Boca Raton

The Home Depot co-founder and billionaire Republican mega-donor Bernard Marcus, known to mostly all as “Bernie,” died Monday November 4 in Boca Raton. He was 95.

The Atlanta-based company said in a statement, announcing his death, that Marcus was “a master merchant and a genius with customer service,” who was “unparalleled in generosity and goodwill.”

The statement added that he “helped create a nation of doers who could tackle any project, large or small. He loved our customers. He also loved the associates who made the company what it is today.”

Born on May 12, 1929 to Jewish immigrants in Newark, New Jersey, Marcus earned his fortune by starting The Home Depot with Arthur Blank in 1978. Together, they built the hardware store into a retail chain, operating 2,300 stores with revenues of $152.7 billion in 2023, according to his Facebook page.

Marcus served as Home Depot’s CEO until 1997 and served as chair until his retirement in 2002.

Philanthropy was paramount for Marcus. The New York Times reported he gave hundreds of millions of dollars for the construction of the Georgia Aquarium that opened in 2005. In 1991, he and his wife established the Marcus Institute, now Marcus Autism Center.

Those same values that built Home Depot fueled the Marcus Foundation, which a Facebook post said granted over $2.7 billion through 3,500 grants since its inception.

Marcus, according to the foundation, was someone who “loved medical research, Israel and Jewish causes, and veterans.” In lieu of flowers, it’s asking for donations to be made in his honor.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Marcus had a networth of $7.4 billion. He was also a major donor to the Republican Party, and to now President-Elect Donald Trump.

In a post on his social media site Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump called Marcus a “supporter” and “an extraordinary man,” and that he looks “forward to powerfully honoring him in the future.”

Marcus is survived by his wife, Billi, who he married in 1973, his two sons and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter, Susanne Marcus Collins.