The National Post reports in its Wednesday, Nov. 6, edition that Bernard "Bernie" Marcus, the cofounder of The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement chain, a billionaire philanthropist and a big Republican donor, has died at 95. An Associated Press dispatch to the Posts reports that Mr. Marcus died Monday in Boca Raton, Fla., surrounded by family, according to a Home Depot spokesman. Mr. Marcus was Home Depot's chief executive officer as it grew rapidly during its first two decades, and was chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. In recent years, he became an outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump. The company said in a statemen: "We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie. He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But even more importantly, he valued our associates, customers and communities above all. He's left us with an invaluable legacy and the backbone of our company: our values and culture." The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Mr. Marcus was born in 1929 and grew up in a tenement in Newark, N.J., according to a biography on the company's website. There are now more than 2,000 Home Depot stores and the firm employs more than 500,000 people.