The billionaire Home Depot cofounder and outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, has died, according to a company statement. He was 95.
Marcus, a former pharmacist, was described as “a master merchant and a genius with customer service” who was “unparalleled in generosity and goodwill” in the statement by the company.
“The entire Home Depot family is deeply saddened by the death of our cofounder Bernie Marcus,” the statement reads. “We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie.”
The billionaire made his fortune by establishing the Home Depot with his cofounder, Arthur Blank, in 1978. The home improvement retail giant began in Atlanta and has since grown to more than 2,000 stores nationwide and a stock market valuation of nearly $400bn.
Marcus himself had a net worth of about $7.4bn, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. He was a major contributor to the US Republican party, especially to Trump.
He and his wife, Billi, donated $7m to committees supporting the success of Trump’s 2016 campaign and another $7.9m to Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections.
Marcus again gave more than $1m to support Trump in this election cycle as of September. He had also donated millions of dollars to the campaigns of other Republican politicians, including the late John McCain and the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis.
In a 2022 interview with the Financial Times, Marcus said he was “worried about capitalism” and claimed because “socialism” was spreading in the US, “nobody works. Nobody gives a damn. ‘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.’”
The hardware tycoon found himself in the middle of a boycott in 2019 after his pledge to support Trump discouraged many customers from patronizing Home Depot stores. The Home Depot attempted to distance itself from its then retired cofounder.
Marcus served as Home Depot’s CEO until 1997 and was the company’s chair until his retirement in 2002.
He and his wife were also involved in several philanthropic causes and had three children.
