Bernard Marcus
Bernard "Bernie" Marcus (born May 12, 1929) is an American billionaire pharmacist, retail entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is one of the founders of Home Depot and was the company's first CEO. Marcus served as Chairman of the Board until his retirement in 2002.
In 1991 Marcus co-founded the Israel Democracy Institute. Marcus contributed $5 million to the construction of the IDI's headquarters in Jerusalem and has continued to donate large sums to the IDI ever since. Most of the institute's annual budget comes from Marcus.[1]
Marcus is chairman of the Marcus Foundation whose foci have been described as "Jewish causes, children, medical research, free enterprise, and the community". [2] The Foundation is a major donor to the Friends of the Israel Defence Forces.
Marcus has been highly critical of the Occupy Wall Street movement, characterising Occupy protesters as "imbeciles". [3]
Notes
- ↑ Shuki Sadeh, 'How foreign donors reshaped Israel: A who's who', Haaretz,17 March 2013, accessed 4 February 2015
- ↑ Israel Democracy Institute Website Bernard (Bernie) Marcus bio. Accessed 4 February 2015.
- ↑ Max Abelson, 'Bankers Join Billionaires to Debunk ‘Imbecile’ Attack on Top 1%', Bloomberg,20 December 2011, accessed 4 February 2015
