Bernard Marcus Biography

Bernard "Bernie" Marcus (born 1929) is an American pharmacist and retail entrepreneur. He co-founded Home Depot and was the company's first CEO; he served as Chairman of the Board until retiring in 2002. He has also been an active philanthropist.

Early life and career

Bernard Marcus was born to Jewish-Russian 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 couldn't 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.

Later, Marcus worked at a drugstore as a pharmacist but became more interested in the business and retailing part of the business. He worked at a cosmetics company and various other retail jobs, eventually reaching a position as a top executive with Handy Dan Improvement Centers, a Los Angeles-based chain of home improvement stores. In 1978, after a disagreement with his boss at Handy Dan, he and Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank were both fired.

Together, with the help of New York investment banker Ken Langone who assembled a group of investors and business partner Arthur Blank, they launched the highly successful home-improvement retailer The Home Depot in 1979. The store revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept and the three became billionaires as a result. He was the company's first CEO for 19 years and served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. Mr. 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.

Philanthropy

Marcus heavily contributed to the launch of the Georgia Aquarium, which opened in downtown Atlanta, Georgia in 2005. Based mostly on the US$250M million donation for the Aquarium, Marcus and his wife, Billi, were listed among the top charitable donors in the country by The Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2005.

Bernie Marcus also funded and founded The Marcus Institute, a center of excellence for the provision of comprehensive services for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. In May 2005, Marcus was awarded the Others Award by the Salvation Army, its highest honor.

Marcus donated $25 million to Autism Speaks to spearhead its efforts to raise money for research on the causes and cure for autism. He is an active member of the board of directors.

Marcus is currently chairman of the Marcus Foundation, whose focuses include children, medical research, free enterprise, Jewish causes and the community.

Marcus is on the Board of Directors and an active volunteer for the Shepherd Center. His main focus is in providing care for war veterans with traumatic brain injuries.

He was named a Georgia Trustee in 2009. The award is given by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752.

In 2012, Marcus was awarded the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.