Bernie's story

Bernie picture gallery

The Home Depot is deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved founder Bernard Marcus. To us he was simply “Bernie”.

Bernie was an inspiration in many ways. He was a master businessman and a genius at customer service. Along with Arthur Blank and Ken Langone, Bernie helped create a nation of makers who could take on any project, big or small. He loved our customers. He also loved the employees who made the company what it is today.

Above all, he believed strongly in the company's core values, particularly giving back. He never lost sight of his humble roots and used his success not for fame or fortune, but to generously help others. In business and charity, Bernie was unparalleled in his generosity and benevolence.

Born to be an entrepreneur

Bernie was born in 1929 to Russian Jewish immigrants and grew up in a tenement house in Newark, New Jersey. He dreamed of becoming a doctor. Because his family couldn't afford medical school, he enrolled in pharmacy school and received a degree from Rutgers University. Bernie said he often skipped class to sell Amana freezers door-to-door.

After college, he worked his way up the corporate ladder at manufacturing giant O'Dell's and retail chain Vornado, Inc. In 1972, Bernie was chairman and president of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, Inc., a chain of the Daylin conglomerate. While working for Daylin, Bernie struck up a friendship with Arthur Blank that would last the rest of his life.

The turning point in Bernie's career came when he was fired from Handy Dan in April 1978 along with Arthur and Ron Brill. At 49, Bernie faced the prospect of reinventing himself. He already had a vision of a one-stop shop for DIY enthusiasts, something that didn't exist in hardware stores at the time. Investment banker Ken Langone helped secure financing to start The Home Depot.

The following year, the first Home Depot stores opened in Atlanta and began a remarkable journey. From those first deals in 1979, Bernie and his co-founders built a company that created jobs worldwide and eventually employed more than 500,000 people.

Return

Giving back was part of Bernie's upbringing. “My mother taught me to be generous. She believed the more you give, the more you get.”

Bernie practiced the Jewish tradition of tzedakah throughout his life. In his book Kicking Up the Dust: Lessons in Thinking Big, Giving Back, and Doing It YourselfHe writes, “I've been able to do things my parents could only dream of…and focused on helping those I'll never meet.”

Over the years, he has had a tremendous impact on health care in Atlanta. With his wife Billi, Bernie founded the Marcus Institute, now the Marcus Autism Center, a nonprofit affiliate of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta that treats more than 5,500 children with autism and related disorders annually.

Bernie also helped found Project Share in collaboration with the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, known for treating brain and spinal injuries. To ensure that military members and veterans receive diagnosis and care without financial constraints, the Marcus Foundation covers the cost of lodging, transportation and care for all military members with brain or spinal injuries sent to Shepherd. Bernie and Billi were inducted into the National Spinal Cord Injury Association Hall of Fame for their tireless efforts in this field.

In 1999, Bernie, Arthur and Ken founded the Homer Fund to care for Home Depot employees experiencing unexpected hardships. Employee contributions to the Homer Fund perfectly illustrate our value of taking care of our employees. Since its inception, the Homer Fund has helped more than 194,000 employees.

Bernie and Billi joined the Giving Pledge in 2010, a commitment to give away the majority of their money over the course of their lives.

“Making a quarterly profit is one thing, but just changing a life is so much better,” Bernie wrote in a letter to Warren Buffett.

Bernie later told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “I want to live to 100 because I want to be able to pay it forward to the things I really believe in.”

Bernie and Billi also built the Georgia Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the world. The aquarium is a nonprofit conservation and research organization. They dedicated it to the people of Georgia and The Home Depot's employees, customers and shareholders to thank them for making The Home Depot a success.

His contributions in Atlanta also included the Georgia Tech Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing, the Marcus Trauma and Emergency Center at Grady Hospital, the Marcus Heart and Vascular Center at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, and a grant to the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia.

Bernie's philanthropic work continues through the Marcus Foundation, with a focus on Jewish causes, children, medical research, free enterprise and community. His commitment to excellent customer service, entrepreneurial spirit, giving back and caring for our associates lives on among The Home Depot employees. To learn more about the foundation, click on the link here: marcusfoundation.org.