Bernard “Bernie” Marcus was an American businessman, philanthropist, and major Republican donor. Marcus was co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot and the founder of the Marcus Foundation, which supports medical research, Jewish causes, and center-right public policy organizations.  ¹

In November 2024, Forbes estimated Bernie Marcus’ net worth as $10.3 billion. He died in November 2024 at the age of 95.  ²

Background

Bernard “Bernie” Marcus was born to Russian Jewish immigrants in 1929 and grew up in Newark, New Jersey. Marcus received a degree from Rutgers University, worked his way up the ranks for a manufacturing conglomerate, and in 1972 became the president of Handy Dan Improvement Centers. After being fired from Handy Dan in 1978, Marcus co-founded The Home Depot with Arthur Blank in Atlanta with financial organization from Ken Langone. ¹

Bernie Marcus died on November 4, 2024 at the age of 95.  ²

Philanthropy

Bernie Marcus with his wife Billi and through the Marcus Foundation created the Marcus Autism Center (formerly the Marcus Institute) as a nonprofit subsidiary of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; Project Share, supporting military personnel with brain or spinal injuries; and the Georgia Aquarium.  ¹

Marcus and Arthur Blank started The Homer Fund in 1999 to provide assistance to Home Depot employees faced with unexpected hardships.  ¹

Political Contributions

Bernie Marcus was a major political donor who spent millions of dollars backing Republican candidates including President Donald Trump. Marcus contributed $10 million to the Preserve America PAC in 2020 supporting Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, a political action committee primarily funded by Sheldon and Miriam Adelson. ³

Marcus contributed millions to other committees supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns, including the Rebuilding America Now Trump PAC ($5 million in 2016), the Make America Number 1 PAC ($2 million in 2016), and Make America Great Again Inc. ($1 million in 2023).  ³

Marcus was a supporter of Israel and contributed $3 million to the United Democracy Project, a nonpartisan super PAC advocating for organizations and candidates that support friendly Israel-U.S. relations. ⁴

Marcus Foundation Funding

According to its website, Marcus’ private Foundation, the Marcus Foundation, has donated over $2.7 billion in grants since its founding in 1989. The website also lists several of the main areas these grants have gone to. These include “Medical Research and Healthcare,” “Jewish Causes,” “Free Enterprise, including Veteran Initiatives and National Security;” “The Health and Welfare of Children, with an emphasis on Civics Education;” and “Targeted Community Support.” ⁵

Medical Research

In 2020, the Marcus Foundation donated $80 million to the Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation center in Atlanta whose patients suffer from strokes, multiple sclerosis, and other brain-related illnesses. The grant was used to support construction of a new building for the center, augment outpatient care, and start a new program to aid soldiers suffering traumatic brain injuries. ⁶

According to its 2023 990 form, the Marcus Foundation donated a grant of $8,152,463 to the Shepard Center Foundation, which helps treat patients with physical or mental disabilities. ^{7 8} In 2024, the Foundation donated another grant of $17,647,034 to the Shepard Center. ⁹

Jewish Causes

In 2021, the Marcus Foundation donated $60 million grant to the Jewish Education Fund, paid over a three-year period, to support RootOne, a local advocacy group that arranges trips to Israel for local Jewish students. RootOne claimed it would use the grant to provide 10,000 trips for students by 2025 and over 20,000 by 2039. ¹⁰

According to its 2023 990 form, the Foundation donated roughly $25,188,626 to the Jewish Education Project, $9,150,000 to the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus, $2,035,000 to the Birthright Israel Foundation, $2,651,000 to the Israel on Campus Coalition, and $6,117,510 to the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. ⁷

According to its 2024 990 form, the Foundation donated $5,076,000 to the Jewish Education Project, $2,256,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, $10,575,000 to the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus, and $5,921,025 to Nefesh B’Nefesh. ⁹

Free Enterprise and Veteran Initiaives

In February 2021, the Marcus Foundation donated a $20 million grant, which was matched by $20 million from the Gary Sinise Foundation, to help launch the Gary Sinise Foundation Avalon Network to help support “cognitive and mental health care for veterans and first-responders” while helping treat those “impacted by post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and substance abuse.” ¹¹ In 2023, the Marcus Foundation donated a grant of $11,329,000 to the Avalon Network. ⁷ In 2024, the Foundation donated another $13,400,000 grant to the Avalon Network. ⁹

According to the website, by 2024, the Marcus Foundation had donated up to $250 million in grants towards Veteran-related causes. ¹²

Children Welfare and Civics Education

According to the Marcus Foundation’s website, the organization’s first grant, roughly $110,000, was donated to Emory Egleston Children’s Research. ¹²

In 2024, the Marus Foundation donated $9,396,848 to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. ⁹

Community Support

In 2005, the Georgia Aquarium was which opened through a $255 million grant from the Marcus Foundation, which the website claims was the largest grant the Foundation has given. The land for the aquarium was donated by Coca-Cola. In a 2012 interview in Philanthropy, Bernie Marcus said he pitched the idea for the aquarium to then-Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes (D) after both were returning from Israel in 1999. ¹³ He stated “I wanted this (aquarium) as a payback to our (Home Depot) customers and to our associates.  I had to ask, ‘What would they enjoy?’ My employees, my associates—they’re not really symphony people. A very small percentage of my customers go to the symphony.  But an aquarium—everyone loves an aquarium!” ¹³ According to the Marcus Foundation website, since its founding the Georgia Aquarium has created “$6.9 billion in new investment in the surrounding community.” ¹²

1. “Remembering Bernie Marcus.” The Home Depot, November 5, 2024. Accessed December 14, 2025. https://corporate.homedepot.com/news/company/remembering-bernie-marcus.
2. “Bernard Marcus.” Forbes. Accessed December 14, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/profile/bernard-marcus/.
3. “Individual Contributions: Bernard Marcus.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 14, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=marcus%2C+bernard.
4. “United Democracy Project.” FactCheck.org. Accessed December 14, 2025. https://www.factcheck.org/2024/09/united-democracy-project-2/.
5. Marcus Foundation, accessed January 9, 2026. https://marcusfoundation.org/
6. Matt Kempner, “Metro Atlanta Rehab Hospital Gets Big Gift from Home Depot Co-Founder,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 10, 2020. https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/dekalb/metro-atlanta-rehab-hospital-gets-big-give-from-home-depot-co-founder/O4MZUAXMKJE5XOSO4QSJJO6HTE/?irclickid=x-x2ZMXdPxycWv01taxiyUHvUkpXAMTseXIPVM0&sharedid=EdgeBingFlow&irpid=2003851&irgwc=1&afsrc=1
7. Return of Private Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Marcus Foundation. 2023. Part XIV a. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/581815651/202403189349102110/full
8. Shepard Center Foundation, accessed January 9, 2026. https://foundation.shepherd.org/
9. Return of Private Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Marcus Foundation. 2024. Part XIV a. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/581815651/202513219349106486/full
10. Sheila Poole, “Marcus Foundation Donates $60 Million To Help Students Visit Israel, “Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 12, 2021. https://www.ajc.com/news/marcus-foundation-donates-60-million-to-help-students-visit-israel/K6NMAH4LUBGMTJH22OBUJ7EZJI/
11. “Arthur M. Blank, Bernie Marcus commit $40 million for veterans’ health.” Candid, February 18, 2021. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/arthur-m.-blank-bernie-marcus-commit-40-million-for-veterans-health
12. “Impact.” Marcus Foundation, accessed January 9, 2026. https://marcusfoundation.org/impact/#decades-of-impact
13. Andrew Ferguson, “Building America,” Philanthropy, Spring 2012, https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazine/building-america/ (accessed July 5, 2022)