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

FILE – Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus appears on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” with anchor Neil Cavuto, on the Fox Business Network, in New York, June 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — 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, donating nearly $5 million to the Republican Party between 2016 and 2020.