Bernie and Billi Marcus

A native of New Jersey, Bernie Marcus trained as a pharmacist and later co-founded The Home Depot in 1978 with Arthur Blank. He served as the company’s first CEO for 19 years and as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. He founded the Israel Democracy Institute in 1991, a nonpartisan think tank in Israel. Marcus also founded the Marcus Institute (later the Marcus Autism Center), which provides treatment to children suffering from autism and related disorders. Bernie is married to Billi Marcus, and they have three children.

Bernie is currently chairman of the Marcus Foundation, whose focuses include children, medical research, free enterprise, military veterans, Jewish causes and the community. In 2002, Marcus donated $3.9 million to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to create an emergency anthrax response center, and $200 million to the Georgia Aquarium project, which opened in 2005 and is one of the largest aquariums in the world. Marcus was inducted as the Georgia Trustee, an honor conferred by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Governor, as well as into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006. 

Billi has championed many charitable causes including the Shepard Spinal Center, whose charitable golf tournament she has anchored in name and deed since 1988. In 2000, Bernie and Billi donated fifty cents on the dollar to the Temple’s capital campaign when it reached the $10 million mark, and this $5 million boost helped The Temple meet its goal. 

In 2010, The Temple received a three-year Marcus Foundation grant to create the Open Jewish Project for unaffiliated young adults and those from interfaith backgrounds. Four years later, The Temple received a grant from the Marcus Foundation to create the synagogue’s first Department of Engagement.