Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, has died, according to an internal memo obtained by CNN. He was 95 years old.
Marcus, a Republican megadonor worth more than $7 billion, started the hardware store with Arthur Blank in 1978. The company now has 2,300 stores and is worth nearly half a trillion dollars.
He was born in New Jersey in 1929 to Russian Jewish immigrants and got his education from Rutgers University in merchandising and marketing.
Marcus and Blank met while working at a home improvement store in California where they were both fired after new management took over.
They realized that changes were needed to the business model and that’s when Home Depot was born.
There was no immediate statement released from the Marcus family or Home Depot about details surrounding his passing.
Marcus was the company’s CEO until 1997 and served as its chairman until he…
