In 1979, Bernie Mar­cus co-found­ed Home Depot, the world’s largest home improve­ment retail­er. Upon his retire­ment, he redi­rect­ed his entre­pre­neur­ial spir­it toward a vari­ety of char­i­ta­ble endeav­ors, chan­nel­ing his gen­eros­i­ty through The Mar­cus Foun­da­tion, which focus­es on Jew­ish caus­es, chil­dren, med­ical research, free enter­prise and the com­mu­ni­ty. He has giv­en away more than $2 bil­lion and is a sig­na­to­ry of The Giv­ing Pledge.