Iconic entrepreneur Bernie Marcus, who co-founded Home Depot, dies at age 95

Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, who helped build The Home Depot into one of America’s most iconic brands before turning to philanthropy and conservative politics and unabashedly backing Donald Trump’s rise in politics, died Monday night at the age of 95.

Marcus’ death was confirmed to Just the News by a family friend Tuesday morning. 

Marcus established The Home Depot with co-founder Arthur Blank in 1978, growing the orange-clad store into a $400 billion hardware giant that became one of Americas largest employers with  2,300 stores.

Later in life, Marcus marshaled his billions in personal fortune to wage significant philanthropic efforts, from helping to fund a new aquarium in his beloved Atlanta to pushing groundbreaking medical research and conservative political organizations like the Job Creators Network that gave voice to Main Street America’s small business community.

He also became one of the earliest backers of Trump in 2015, a trusted voice inside Trump campaigns and White House and a large donor to his campaigns and other conservative causes. 

Marcus often played a pivotal role in Republican politics, endorsing former Trump campaign adviser Harmeet Dhillon to lead the Republican National Committee and urging the RNC to stop hosting debates and unite behind Trump a year ago.

He cracked the whip again in March after Trump GOP challenger Nikki Haley dropped out, telling Republican factions to unite and open their wallets to the presumptive nominee to protect "free market capitalism ... parental rights, freedom of speech and religion, and due process."