When Simon Amiel, executive director of RootOne, last saw Bernard “Bernie” Marcus in June, he made sure to bring stories. Five of them, specifically, about the experiences of Jewish teenagers who had participated in Israel trips subsidized by RootOne, a recipient of upwards of $80 million in donations from The Home Depot billionaire’s Marcus Foundation since 2020. 

Amiel read the five stories, but when he was done, Marcus asked for more. 

“As I read, he closed his eyes… At that point, he’s 95 years old, I wasn’t sure if he was resting his eyes or if he, you know, maybe perhaps fell asleep… When he opened his eyes. They were incredibly, incredibly sharp. He had not fallen asleep. He was taking it all in,” Amiel told eJewishPhilanthropy. “He’s somebody who did this work and invested in this, not for any self-aggrandizement… but truly for the sake of helping others and ensuring the future of the Jewish people,” Amiel said. 

Marcus, who died on Monday in Boca Raton, Fla., at 95, was a prolific philanthropist with his wife of more than 50 years, Billi. Their work supported, and in some cases transformed, American Jewish life, the State of Israel, American politics, medicine and his adopted hometown of Atlanta, where he donated $250 million to create the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the United States. But according to those who knew him, Marcus’ legacy will be that of stories like Amiel’s, of the impact for the many individual people who were touched by his life’s work.

“Bernie’s enduring generosity and unwavering philanthropic support to [Atlanta’s Marcus Jewish Community Center] transformed our organization in ways beyond measure, ensuring that our agency remained innovative, vibrant, inclusive, and a safe hub for Jewish life,” Jared Powers, the JCC’s CEO, said in a statement.  “His tremendous philanthropy shaped the Marcus JCC’s past and present and has inspired countless individuals and future generations to celebrate their Jewish values and connect with each other.”

Born to Russian Jewish immigrants — Joe and Sara Marcus — in 1929, Marcus grew up in tenement housing in Newark, N.J. Though the family was impoverished, Marcus’ mother imparted upon him the importance of charity, Jay Kaiman, president of The Marcus Foundation, told eJP. 

“His mother taught him at a very young age about the concept of tzedakah, about giving back. He carried that with him his whole life,” Kaiman said. 

In 1979, Marcus co-founded The Home Depot, alongside Arthur Blank, as well as Pat Farrah and Ken Langone, and led the company — now valued at nearly $400 billion — as its CEO for its first 19 years. Over the last 30 years, The Marcus Foundation, has given billions to hundreds of nonprofit organizations. Marcus pledged to donate some 90% of his personal fortune to the foundation, which he instructed to “sunset” within 20 years of his death.

“Whether it’s business or philanthropy, Bernie didn’t do anything small. He was always shooting for the moon and beyond. And he had an ability to bring other people with him,” Elias Saratovsky, president and CEO of the Birthright Israel Foundation, told eJP. 

Marcus was a longtime donor to the Republican Party, but when it came to the Jewish community and to Israel, his philanthropic work encompassed a big tent.

“It’s important to make a distinction between Bernie’s politics and his philanthropy,” Yoni Kaiser-Blueth, program director of The Marcus Foundation’s Jewish portfolio, told eJP’s sister publication Jewish Insider in 2019. “The politics doesn’t bleed into the philanthropy much.”

 The Marcus Foundation supported Jewish initiatives across the religious and political spectrum, from the Zionist Organization of America to the Union for Reform Judaism.

“We join the wide circle of those who mourn the death of Bernard ‘Bernie’ Marcus.? Bernie was a proud Reform Jew whose philanthropic deeds were nothing short of extraordinary,” the URJ wrote in a statement. “As a devoted member of URJ congregation The Temple in Atlanta, Bernie believed that Jews need our modern, relevant and inclusive Reform expression of Judaism. His dedication to Israel as a democratic, pluralistic and secure Jewish homeland was one of his deepest commitments.”

In 1991, Marcus helped found the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based nonpartisan think tank, and has served as its international chairman, as well as chairman of its “American Friends of.”

“Israelis from all walks of life owe a debt of gratitude to Bernie for all that he has done to make Israel a stronger, freer, and more hopeful place,” IDI President Yohanan Plesner said in a statement. “We are at a moment of grave, existential peril, and in our last conversation Bernie expressed to me his profound concern for the future of Israel and the Jewish people.”

Marcus maintained a close relationship with Blank, even after the two retired from Home Depot. “Bernie’s impact extends far beyond the aisles of our stores; his philanthropic efforts touched countless lives and communities,” Blank wrote in a statement about Marcus after his death. “He believed in the power of giving back and dedicated himself to making a difference in the world. His commitment to innovation, integrity and service was an inspiration to everyone who knew him, including me. His passion for improving people’s lives drove his generosity, and it was part of his DNA in leading The Home Depot and continued through his life and will continue well beyond his passing.”

Marcus was particularly interested in Jewish and Zionist causes, donating consistently and heavily to Hillel International, the Birthright Israel Foundation, and more recently RootOne, which focuses on subsidizing trips to Israel for Jewish teens. 

He viewed investing in the Jewish community as necessary and obvious, and expected the same of his peers, according to Amiel. “His default was, if you’re Jewish, of course you care about the Jewish people. If you care about the Jewish people, of course you invest in its future. If you didn’t, you were going to hear it from him,” Amiel said.

Kaiman described Marcus as a natural problem solver, and ascribed both his success and his investment in the Jewish future to his unique ability to “see around corners,” providing the example of the Marcus National Blood Services Center in Ramle, Israel. 

Following his $35 million donation, the Marcus National Blood Services Center, the world’s first underground anti-missile blood bank, was dedicated in Marcus’ name in 2022. “On a visit many years ago to Israel’s blood bank, amid the missile and rocket attacks, I realized how delicate and vulnerable the blood system was,” Marcus said on the occasion of the dedication. 

Last year, it went into operation just hours after the Oct. 7 attack. “That kind of sums up Bernie’s visionary way of looking at his giving,” Kaiman told eJP.  

The Marcus Foundation and Marcus family invited those interested in making donations to some of Marcus’ top causes — RootOne, the Avalon Action Alliance, the Marcus Autism Center, the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center at Grady, the Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital and the Israel Democracy Institute — in lieu of flowers or other gifts.

“Bernie left us a great legacy. In order to honor that legacy, we all can be philanthropists. We all can give back,” Kaiman said. “I think that’s the best way to remember this guy.”

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.