Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot who died in November 2024 at the age of 95, left a philanthropic legacy that now includes a $28.7 million grant to the University of Southern California's Stem Cell Center. The money will fund clinical trials of stem-cell-based therapies designed to rebuild heart tissue damaged by a heart attack.
The donation
The Marcus Foundation, set up in 1989 by Bernie Marcus and his wife Billi, announced the grant to Dr Chuck Murry, director of the USC Stem Cell Center. The foundation's chief science officer, Jonathan Simons, said the contribution reflects the organisation's focus on regenerative medicine.
"Murry and his team have advanced gene-edited cellular therapy to the point that the time is right to support cells as living medicine in this new form of treatment," Jonathan Simons said in a statement.
The gift is the largest the foundation has ever made to USC and one of its biggest contributions to academic medicine. In 2024 the foundation also gave $25.9 million for stroke research at Emory University and $20 million in 2019 to Jefferson's Sidney Kimmel Medical College.
Why regenerative medicine matters
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and Europe. Stem-cell therapy promises a way to repair the heart muscle rather than merely managing symptoms. By supporting clinical trials, the Marcus Foundation hopes to accelerate the transition from laboratory research to treatments that can be offered in hospitals.
Future steps
The USC team will use the funding to expand patient recruitment, refine gene-editing techniques and move toward larger, multi-centre trials. Success could lead to broader adoption of cellular therapies across cardiovascular clinics in Europe and the United States. The foundation's continued focus on stem-cell research suggests further grants may follow as the field matures.
Since its inception, the Marcus Foundation has awarded more than $2.7 billion through over 3,500 grants, covering medical research, Jewish causes, free enterprise, veterans and children's welfare. Its disciplined giving strategy, described by Marcus in 2012 as moving away from a "buckshot approach", aims to concentrate resources on areas he was personally passionate about, such as cardiovascular disease and regenerative medicine.