How Doers Get More Done
Summary: Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank co-founded Home Depot in 1978 after being fired from their jobs at Handy Dan hardware store. In 1981, Marcus, Blank and early investor Ken Langone took Home Depot public. And since then, Home Depot has remained the world's largest home improvement retailer.
Early Life: Marcus was born and raised in a fourth-floor walk-up tenement in Newark, New Jersey, by Russian immigrant parents who sought the "golden land" in the U.S.
After graduating from Rutgers University with a B.S. degree in merchandising and marketing from the School of Pharmacy, Marcus began working at a drugstore as a pharmacist. Still, he became more interested in the retailing side of the business. He then worked at a cosmetics company and numerous retail jobs, eventually becoming the CEO of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, a Los Angeles-based chain of home improvement stores. After revolutionizing the home improvement business with its warehouse concept, Bernard Marcus continued his leadership role until his retirement in 2002. Bernard Marcus now serves on the boards of directors of the New York Stock Exchange, National Service Industries, DBT Online, and Westfield Corporation. He is chairman of the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Philanthropic endeavors: Bernard Marcus and his wife, Billi, created the Marcus Center, an affiliate of Emory University, which provides a full array of services for people of all ages with mental disabilities.
In 2005 he helped open the Georgia Aquarium.
In 2010, Marcus and his wife signed the Giving Pledge and gave away over $1 billion to education, hospitals, and Jewish causes.
Serves on the boards of Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta; The City of Hope in Duarte, California; the American Jewish Committee, California; and the Atlanta Jewish Foundation
Fun fact: "In the early days of Home Depot, no one entered the store, so Marcus and Blank sent their kids out into the streets to hand $1 bills to anyone willing to walk in. Initially, Marcus wanted to be a doctor but couldn't afford Harvard Medical School, so he instead studied pharmaceuticals at Rutgers in his native N.J." -Forbes
-Bernard Marcus: Impact and Significance
-Philanthropy: Works, Giving Pledge, and Home Depot
-More about his path: Home Depot
-Values: Home Depot
-Entrepreneurship: Bernie Marcus on Business Ecosystem
Books
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