New York
CNN
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Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the co-founder of billionaire Home Depot and a 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 death 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 grew the orange-clad hardware store into a retail giant that now has 2,300 stores. and a stock market valuation of nearly $400 billion.

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

He met Blank when they worked at Handy Dan Home Improvement, a chain in California. They were both fired after new management came in, so the duo devised a plan to start a new chain that was larger than traditional hardware stores with a better trained staff. Then Home Depot was born.

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

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

Marcus has also donated to various charities, Jewish and medical organizations, in addition to a $250 million grant that opened 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 Governor Ron DeSantis and Trump.

Later in his life, he appeared regularly on right-wing television shows on Fox News and Fox Business, often speaking about his support for Trump’s presidential ambitions. Some of Trump’s opponents attempted to launch a boycott of The Home Depot in 2016 and in 2019 over Marcus’ support of the Republican candidate for president.

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

This story has been updated with additional context and developments.