Who Was Bernard Marcus Married To? Home Depot Founder and Billionaire Dies at 95
As the interview started, Billi playfully told Bernie, "Pretend that we like each other."
Published Nov. 5 2024, 1:13 p.m. ET
Home Depot founder and billionaire Bernard Marcus, known as Bernie Marcus, has passed away at the age of 95. Before his death, he was active in both the world of business and Republican politics, and a philanthropist who was involved in multiple causes.
But at home, he was just Bernie. This is who he was married to at the time of his death, and what we know about his wife, Billi Marcus.
Bernie and Billi Marcus
Who was Bernard Marcus married to? Billi is a philanthropist in her own right.
Despite being an active philanthropist, Billi Marcus is a relatively low-profile figure. She is Bernie's second wife. Bernie was previously married to Ruth Rados, who passed away in July 2023. He shared two children with his first wife: Frederick Marcus and Susanne Marcus Collins.
After his divorce from Ruth, Bernie met and fell in love with Billi. The two were married and they share no children but he was the stepfather to Billi's child from a previous marriage, Michael Morris.
The two shared a passion for involvement in politics and various causes. In 2018, they spoke openly about their support for Hillells of Georgia, a Jewish student organization. As the interview started, Billi playfully told Bernie, "Pretend that we like each other." She explained, "We both have the same feelings about a lot of things. Giving is one of them."
She added, "I give small amounts of money away. Nothing I can do is gonna change the world." She nodded to her husband and continued, "But he could."
Bernie and Billi Marcus give an interview on their support of Hillels Georgia
Bernie Marcus passed away at 95, and this is his legacy.
And from Bernie's perspective, he probably did do a lot to change the world. Bernie's legacy is one of political impact and philanthropy. He was a Republican mega-donor who pushed hard to get his friend, former President Donald Trump, elected in 2020.
He spent many hours on Fox News and affiliates talking about what he felt like was the downfall of the country under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and had plans to live to see what he expected would be his friend's victory on Nov. 5, 2024.
Unfortunately for Bernie, he did not live to see the results of the election either way. He passed away surrounded by family on Nov. 4, 2024. Just a day before Trump's name would go down in history as either a two-time winner or a two-time loser.
A young Bernie started working at just 11 years old to support his family in Newark, N.J. As an adult, he worked as a pharmacist. But his passion lay in the business world and his first major role was as CEO of Handy Dan Improvement Centers. There he met his future Home Depot co-founder, Arthur Blank. They opened the first Home Depot in 1978 and threw everything they had at it, in a "make it or break it" gamble that paid off in a huge way.
Since successfully launching the Home Depot chain in Atlanta and growing it, the venture capitalist provided funding for The Georgia Aquarium along with his nonprofit organizations The Marcus Institute, and The Marcus Foundation. As a billionaire, his money was influential in Republican causes over the past few decades, and his recipients will be hard-pressed to replace his contributions.