Home Depot co-founder and major Republican donor Bernard “Bernie” Marcus has died at 95, the home improvement chain announced Tuesday.
“The Home Depot is deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved founder,” the company stated on its website. “To us, he was simply ‘Bernie’,” Atlanta-based Home Depot added.
The billionaire accumulated his fortune by starting The Home Depot with Arthur Blank in 1978, with the two building the hardware store into a giant retail chain that now operates 2,300 stores.
Marcus was the CEO of Home Depot until 1997 and served as its chairman until he retired in 2002.
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