| Bernard Marcus | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | May 12, 1929 Newark, New Jersey |
| Residence | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | Rutgers University |
| Alma mater | Rutgers University |
| Occupation | Co-founder of Home Depot |
| Net worth |  US$3.5 billion (September 2015) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Rados Billi Marcus |
| Children | Frederick Marcus
Susanne Marcus Collins |
Bernard “Bernie” Marcus (born May 12, 1929) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He co-founded Home Depot and was the company’s first CEO; he served as Chairman of the Board until retiring in 2002.
Early life and education
Bernard Marcus was born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Newark, New Jersey. He grew up in a tenement and graduated from South Side High School in 1947. Marcus wanted to become a doctor but could not afford the tuition, so he worked for his father as a cabinet maker through Rutgers University to earn a pharmacy degree. While there he joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He was also a brother of Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity.
Career
Later, Marcus worked at a drugstore as a pharmacist but became more interested in the retailing side of the business. He worked at a cosmetics company and various other retail jobs, eventually reaching a position as CEO of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, a Los Angeles-based chain of home improvement stores. In 1978 both he and future Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank were fired during a corporate power struggle at Handy Dan. In 1979 they founded the home-improvement retailer The Home Depot, with the help of merchandising guru Pat Farrah and New York investment banker Ken Langone who assembled a group of investors.
The store revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept. Blank, Marcus, and Langone became billionaires. Marcus served as the company’s first CEO for 19 years and also served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. Marcus was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006.
Marcus has opposed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). He has also suggested that clients send donations to groups and Senate Republicans also against the EFCA. He views the legislation as hindrance to American capitalism, calling it “the demise of a civilization” and suggesting that any retailer who does not fight it “should be shot; should be thrown out of their goddamn jobs.” Marcus has also been an opponent of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In 2015, Marcus donated $1.5 million to Super PACs supporting Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. On June 1, 2016, Bernard Marcus wrote: ” I now stand in support of Donald Trump because the fate of this nation depends upon sending him, and not Hillary Clinton, to the White House.”
- Bernard Marcus was fired from hardware store Handy Dan in 1978, along with his coworker Arthur Blank, so the duo started a rival retailer, Home Depot.
- In 1981, Marcus, Blank and early investor Kenneth Langone took Home Depot public. All three men are now billionaires.
- Marcus was born to Russian immigrant parents, who sought the “golden land” in the U.S. and ended up in a fourth floor walk-up tenement in N.J.
- He has given away more than $1 billion to education, hospitals and Jewish causes through the Marcus Foundation, which he founded with his wife.
- Marcus helped to open the Georgia Aquarium, now home to a diverse marine life collection including beluga whales and whale sharks, in November 2005.
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