Bernard Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot and billionaire Republican major donor, has died

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CNN
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Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot and Republican megadonor who became an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump in recent years, has died, the company announced Tuesday. He was 95.

“The entire Home Depot family is deeply saddened by the passing of our co-founder Bernie Marcus,” The Home Depot said in a statement. “We owe Bernie an immeasurable debt of gratitude.”

Marcus, who had a net worth of about $7.4 billion according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, made his fortune by co-founding The Home Depot with Arthur Blank in 1978. The duo built the orange hardware store into a retail giant, which today has 2,300 stores and a stock market valuation of almost $400 billion.

Marcus was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1929 to Russian Jewish immigrants and was the youngest of four siblings. He graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in merchandising and marketing and entered the retail industry, working for various chains.

He met Blank when they worked at Handy Dan Home Improvement, a chain in California. Both were laid off after new management came in, so the duo hatched a plan to create a new chain that was larger than traditional hardware stores and had better-trained staff. Then Home Depot was born.

Marcus was CEO of Home Depot until 1997 and served as the company's chairman until his retirement in 2002.

The Home Depot was founded in Atlanta, a city where Marcus was a well-known philanthropist with his wife Billi. The couple founded the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University, which helps children with developmental disabilities.

Marcus has also donated to several charities, Jewish and medical organizations, in addition to a $250 million grant that helped open the famous Georgia Aquarium in 2005.

“He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But more importantly, he valued our employees, customers and communities above all,” the company said. “He left us 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 Gov. Ron DeSantis and Trump.

Later in his life, he appeared frequently on right-wing television shows on Fox News and Fox Business and often spoke about his support of Trump's presidential aspirations. Some Trump opponents attempted a boycott of The Home Depot in 2016 and 2019 because Marcus supported the Republican presidential candidate.

Marcus also said in a 2022 interview with the Financial Times that he was “worried about capitalism” and that “no one is working” due to what he called the spread of “socialism” in America. Nobody cares about it. “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 freedom of expression here. We don’t have it,” Marcus told the newspaper. “Woke people have taken over the world. You know, I imagine they won't be able to attack me today. I’m 93. Who cares about Bernie Marcus?”

This story has been updated with additional context and developments.