Meet Bernie Marcus, the 90-year-old billionaire founder of Home Depot, who is a major Trump donor and plans on giving most of his $5.9 billion fortune away
Bernard Marcus, 90, grew up in Newark, New Jersey.
Handy Dan fired Marcus and his future business partner Arthur Blank during a corporate restructuring in 1978.
Marcus and Blank decided to launch a new chain of hardware stores to compete with Handy Dan, starting with two stores in Atlanta, according to Bloomberg. Handy Dan later went out of business, according to The New York Times.
The first Home Depots opened on June 22, 1979, according to the retailer's website. The stores were 60,000 square feet and had a much wider selection of products than traditional hardware stores.
Home Depot was not an immediate success.
The pair lost half the money they invested in the store during the first year it was open, according to Bloomberg. Marcus and Blank even had their children stand outside the store offering $1 bills to any passerby willing to take a look inside, Forbes reports.
Home Depot is now the world's largest home improvement retailer with over 2,200 stores in North America, according to its website. The company also said on its website that its revenue exceeded $108 billion in 2018.
Home Depot went public in 1981.
Marcus, Blank, and early investor Kenneth Langone all became billionaires due to the company's success, according to Forbes.
Marcus now has a net worth of $5.9 billion, Forbes estimates. Blank is worth $5 billion, according to Forbes, and Langone's net worth stands at $3.7 billion.
Marcus served as the chairman of Home Depot's board until he retired in 2002, according to Bloomberg.
Marcus now lives in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife, Billi.
Marcus has three children, according to Bloomberg: He has two children from his first marriage and a stepson with Billi.
The Marcuses are noted philanthropists.
The couple signed The Giving Pledge in 2010, committing to give away the majority of their fortune.
"It has always been my belief that leaving enormous wealth for our children does nothing to stimulate their ability to make it on their own," the couple wrote in a letter on The Giving Pledge's website. "I too believe that all our efforts in creating the wealth that we have would give us a great deal more joy if we were to disperse as much of it during our lifetimes."
Marcus also donated $250 million to build the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, according to Forbes. It is the largest aquarium in the United States, according to its website.
Marcus is also a major political donor.
Marcus donated $7 million to Trump's 2016 campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. During the 2018 midterm election, Marcus gave $7.9 million to outside groups including a super PAC run by National Security Advisor John Bolton, according to Forbes.
Marcus sparked a boycott of Home Depot in July 2019 after telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he would once again financially support the president in 2020.
Marcus responded to the boycott in a Facebook post.
"It saddens me that our country has come to this, where I, as a private citizen, cannot express my feelings," Marcus wrote. "It angers me and it saddens me, but it sure as hell is not going to stop me. If you thought it would, you've got the wrong guy."
Trump also came to Marcus's defense, praising Marcus as " truly great, patriotic & charitable man" and calling the boycotters "vicious and totally crazed" on Twitter 0n July 9, Business Insider reported.
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