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ATLANTA – Bernard Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot who helped grow the Atlanta-based company into a global enterprise, has died at the age of 95.

The Home Depot announced Marcus’ death Tuesday morning.

Marcus was born in 1929 as the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and raised in New Jersey. His first dream was to become a doctor, but his family could not afford to enroll him in medical school. He then enrolled in pharmacy school and eventually graduated from Rutgers.

Instead of going into the medical field, Marcus discovered his true passion when he skipped classes to sell freezers door-to-door. His talent for sales allowed him to quickly move up the corporate ladder at O’Dell’s and Vordnado Inc. He became chairman of the board and president of Handy Dan Improvement Centers Inc. in 1972. It was there that he entered into the partnership that would shape the rest of his life by meeting Arthur Blank.

Marcus, Blank and Ron Brill were all fired from Handy Dan in 1978. At age 48, Marcus went into business with both men, working with investment banker Ken Langone to secure the financing needed to open of the first Home Depot in Atlanta. Since then, the company has helped shape the nature of home improvement, eventually growing to more than 2,300 stores and employing more than 500,000 associates.

After the company made him a billionaire, Marcus focused on donating millions of dollars to health care in Atlanta.

“I was able to do things my parents could only dream of…and I focused on helping those I would never meet,” he wrote in his book “Kick Up Some Dust : Lessons on Thinking Big, Giving Back and Doing It Yourself”. “.

In 2010, Bernie and his wife Billi joined The Giving Pledge, a pledge led by billionaire Warren Buffett to give away the majority of their money over their lifetime.

The couple created the Marcus Institute, now known as the Marcus Autism Center, a nonprofit affiliate of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta that treats more than 5,500 children each year.

Marcus, Blank and other philanthropists and organizations partnered with actor Gary Sinise to launch the Gary Sinise Foundation’s Avalon Network to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and drug addiction.

Marcus helped create Project Share with the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, with the Marcus Foundation covering housing, transportation and care costs for military personnel receiving treatment for brain or spinal injuries at the center.

Outside of healthcare, Marcus and his wife built the Georgia Aquarium, dedicating the downtown Atlanta building in 2005 to Georgia residents and Home Depot customers.

Politically, Marcus was a supporter of conservative causes, financially supporting the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and other Republican candidates.

“The entire Home Depot family is deeply saddened by the passing of our co-founder Bernie Marcus,” a Home Depot spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie. He was a master marketer and retail visionary. But more importantly, he valued our associates, our customers and our communities above all. He left us an invaluable legacy and the backbone of our company: our values.

The company said Marcus’ philanthropic work will continue through his foundation. You can find out more here.