Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, died Monday at the age of 95. But it's how he lived that's worth celebrating. Marcus wasn't just one of America's great entrepreneurs and philanthropists. He was a fierce advocate for free enterprise and the American dream because his life story embodied both.

Yet the principled Marcus still wouldn’t take a cent from the investor precisely because the investor insulted Marcus and the team he’d put together with all sorts of demands.

A man of second acts, Marcus started Home Depot after getting fired from another retailer. He then became a philanthropist, a Republican megadonor and an evangelist of capitalism.

Bernie Marcus cofounded the Atlanta-based Home Depot chain of home-improvement stores and supported many charitable causes such as the Marcus Jewish Community Center.

Co-founder of Home Depot Bernie Marcus has died at the age of the 95. Marcus was surrounded by his family at the time of his death on Monday in Boca Raton, Florida. His legacy not only includes the home improvement chain,

Billionaire Bernie Marcus, a GOP megadonor and co-founder of The Home Depot, has died, the company announced Tuesday. He was 95. Marcus was “a master merchant and a genius with customer service” who was “unparalleled in generosity and goodwill,