Trivia

Co-founder, with Kenneth Langone and Pat Farrah, of Home Depot.

Marcus quit college and went to Florida where he lived for a year. But his mother convinced him to return to Rutgers, where he enrolled in pharmacy school. He graduated in 1954, and became partners in a pharmacy where he worked for nearly a year. His heart was not in the job, however, and he quit to work at a retail cosmetics store in New York City. But the company was not making a profit and Marcus left to take a job with Two Guys, a discount department store chain. By 1959, he was in charge of about $1 billion worth of business.

After graduating from high school, Marcus enrolled in the pre-med program at Rutgers College in Newark. During his second year, he applied for a scholarship to Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He has always given generously to many causes, including a $45 million donation in 1998 to help children with brain disorders.

Born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Newark, New Jersey. His father was a cabinet maker and his mother a homemaker.