Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus talks new book, DIY mentality

“Kick Up Some Dust” is the new book by Bernie Marcus, the 93-year-old billionaire and co-founder of Atlanta-based The Home Depot.

Marcus served as the company’s chairman and inaugural CEO. Before that, he was fired at the age of 49. But, he says, failure never dragged him down.

“I started out a new life at the age of 50 when most of my friends were looking forward to retirement,” Marcus says. “I was just starting out, working 70-hour weeks, building The Home Depot to what it is today.”

The sometimes controversial figure and GOP megadonor retired in 2002. Marcus’ philanthropic organization The Marcus Foundation, gave $15 million to form a network for stroke care to help reduce disability and death from the disease in the Southeast.

Marcus sat down with WABE’s “Morning Edition” and began the talk by saying, “You don’t need to have a fortune to make a difference.”