Bernie Marcus, Home Depot co-founder and billionaire philanthropist, dies at 95

abcnews.go.com:

Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the co-founder of The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, a billionaire philanthropist, and a big Republican donor, has died

NEW YORK — Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, the co-founder of The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement chain, a billionaire philanthropist, and a big Republican donor, has died. He was 95.

Marcus died Monday in Boca Raton, Florida, surrounded by family, according to a Home Depot spokesperson.

Marcus was Home Depot's CEO as it grew rapidly during its first two decades, and was chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. In recent years, he became an outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump.

“We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie,” the company said in a statement. “He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But even more importantly, he valued our associates, customers and communities above all. He’s left us with an invaluable legacy and the backbone of our company: our values and culture. ”

The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Marcus was born in 1929 and grew up in a tenement in Newark, New Jersey, according to a biography on the company's website. Marcus had aspirations of becoming a doctor, but his family couldn't afford medical school and he endeavored to become a pharmacist, receiving a degree from Rutgers University. Marcus used to say he'd skip classes to sell Amana freezers door-to-door, according to Home Depot.

After college, Marcus worked at the manufacturing conglomerate O’Dell’s and the retail chain Vornado, quickly ascending the corporate ladder. By 1972, Marcus was chairman and president of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, part of the Daylin conglomerate. It was there that Marcus formed a lifelong