Home Depot CEO Bernie Marcus (left) and co-founder Arthur Blank in 1997. They weren’t the first to build a “big box” store. They weren’t even the first to have a home impr ...

“God bless you, my dearest Bernie,” Blank said. Marcus, who died Monday at the age of 95, launched what became the nation’s biggest home improvement retailer — a massive employer nationally and the ...

Marcus was a man of second acts -- starting the home improvement chain after getting fired at age 48. After Home Depot's success made him a billionaire, he became a prolific philanthropist.