Bernard Marcus, Home Depot co-founder and GOP megadonor, dies at 95

Bernard "Bernie" Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot and Republican megadonor who has been an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump has died, according to an internal memo received by . He was 95.

Marcus, who had a net worth of around $11 billion, according to , established with Arthur Blank in 1978 and helped it grow into 2,300 stores with astock market valuation of nearly $400 billion.

Marcus and Blank began the regional hardware store after being fired from their jobs at Handy Dan Home Improvement in California.

He was the store's CEO until 1997 and company chairman until retiring in 2002.

During his life, Marcus was known for donating to several Jewish and medical organizations in addition to a $250 million grant that helped open the Georgia Aquarium in 2005.

"He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But even more importantly, he valued our associates, customers and communities above all," the company stated. "He's left us with an invaluable legacy and the backbone of our company: our values."

In November 2023, Marcus endorsed Trump for president and said he would still give money to his campaign even if the former president was convicted of a crime, .

During the 2020 election cycle, Marcus and his wife Billi were the seventh-largest Republican donors giving nearly $25 million to campaigns, according to OpenSecrets.

Marcus told Reuters he thought Trump was a "fixer" who would help the U.S. economy.

Born to Russian Jewish immigrants in 1929 in Newark, New Jersey, Marcus was the youngest of four siblings.