Arthur Blank

Arthur M. Blank (born September 27, 1942) is an American businessman and a co-founder of the home improvement retailer The Home Depot.[3]

Arthur Blank
Arthur Blank in 2016
Born (1942-09-27) September 27, 1942
EducationBabson College (BBA)
Occupation
Net worth US$5.3 billion (November 2019)[1]
Spouse(s)Diana Latow (Divorced 1993)
Stephanie Wray (1995–2014)
Angela Macuga (2016–2019)[2]
Children6
Awards2018 MLS Cup Champion
Websitewww.blankfamilyofbusinesses.com

He also currently owns two professional sports teams based in Atlanta, Georgia - the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta United of Major League Soccer (MLS), the latter of which having won the 2018 MLS Cup, thus giving him an MLS Cup Championship to his credit.[4]

Life

Arthur Blank was born to a Jewish family in Flushing, New York.[5] He was born to Max Blank, a pharmacist, and Molly Blank. He has an older brother named Michael. Blank graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City.[6]

Blank in 2009

After graduating from Babson College in 1963,[7] Blank was hired by Arthur Young and Company, where he was a senior accountant. He later joined the Daylin corporation, where he rose to become president of Elliott's Drug Stores/Stripe Discount Stores, a division of Daylin. When Daylin decided to sell off that division, Blank moved to another division, Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers. Bernard Marcus was CEO of Handy Dan and Blank was vice president of finance when both were fired in 1978 as part of an internal power struggle.

In 1978, Blank co-founded Home Depot with Marcus. New York investment banker Ken Langone assembled the initial group of investors and merchandising expert Patrick Farrah helped founders realize their vision of one-stop shopping for the do-it-yourselfer. The store revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept and Blank and Marcus became billionaires as a result. Blank spent 19 years as the company's president before succeeding Marcus as CEO. Blank retired from the company in 2001 as co-chairman. He got his MBA from Harvard.

Today, Blank is the Chairman of AMB Group LLC, parent company of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. He is also chairman of The Arthur Blank Family Foundation,[8] and serves on the Board of Trustees of Emory University.

In March 2020, Blank's foundation announced it would donate nearly $5.4 million to aid the coronavirus pandemic response in Georgia and Montana.[9][10]

In October 2020 it was announced that the new Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hospital would be named after Arthur Blank after his foundation donated $200 million to the project. The Arthur M. Blank Hospital is expected to open in 2025.[11][12]

Sports ownership

In February 2002, Blank purchased the Atlanta Falcons franchise in the National Football League from owner Taylor Smith, the son of team founder Rankin M. Smith Sr. In September 2004, he bought the Arena Football League franchise, the Georgia Force; he moved the team to the city of Atlanta after it had spent several years in suburban Gwinnett County.

Blank has expressed serious interest in purchasing other franchises. In early 2006, he temporarily withdrew from contention as a potential buyer of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. Some months later, Blank re-entered serious talks with Time Warner and a report indicated that a sale was imminent. However, in February 2007, the Braves completed the sale of the team to Liberty Media. Blank has also founded an expansion Major League Soccer franchise named Atlanta United FC that began play in 2017.[13] The club shares Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the Falcons.

Personal life

Blank has been married three times and divorced twice, with a third divorce pending. He has three children with his first wife, Diana Blank (born 1942): Kenny Blank, Dena Blank Kimball, and Danielle Blank Thomsen;[14][15] they divorced in 1993.[16] In 1995, he married Stephanie V. Blank (born 1968), a Blowing Rock, North Carolina, native and Appalachian State University graduate[17] They met when she worked as a designer at a Home Depot store in Atlanta.[17] They had three children - Joshua Blank, Max Blank, and Kylie Blank - before being divorced.[18] In June 2016, Blank married Angela Macuga (born 1968),[2][19] who had three children from a previous marriage.[19][20] They announced their pending divorce on January 1, 2019.[21]

Blank owns Mountain Sky Guest Ranch and West Creek Ranch outside Yellowstone National Park in Paradise Valley, Montana. He also owns several PGA TOUR Superstores. He is a signatory of The Giving Pledge committing himself to give away at least 50% of his wealth to charitable causes.

On February 9, 2016, Blank disclosed that he had treatable prostate cancer.[22] On March 17, 2016, Blank announced that he is cancer-free following treatment.[23]

Awards and honors

Sports ownership

Business

  • 2005 National Entrepreneur Of The Year (Ernst & Young LLP)
  • Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame (class of 2006)
  • Two-time Georgia Tend magazine Most Respected CEO in Georgia (2001, 2003)
  • 2014 Georgia Trustee

Charity work

  • 2011 Freeing Voices, Changing Lives award from the American Institute for Stuttering

References

  1. "Arthur Blank". Forbes.
  2. Cleary, Tom (February 5, 2017). "Angela Macuga, Arthur Blank's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
  3. "Our History". homedepot.com. The Home Depot. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  4. "ARTHUR BLANK - OWNER AND CEO". atlantafalcons.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  5. Images, Getty. "Super Bowl-Bound Arthur Blank on Why Jews Score as NFL Owners". The Forward. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  6. "Arthur Blank - Owner and CEO - Biography". Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
  7. "The Incredible List of Successful Babson College Alumni (Part 1: Undergraduates)". VentureFizz. June 15, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  8. "AMB Group names key executives". Atlanta Business Chronicle. June 20, 2001. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  9. "Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announces nearly $5.4 million in funding for COVID-19 relief efforts". www.atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  10. Staff, WSBTV com News. "Arthur Blank donates $5+ million in funding for coronavirus relief efforts". WSBTV. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  11. Walsh, Erin (October 12, 2020). "Falcons owner Arthur Blank donates $200 million to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hospital". Yardbarker. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  12. Staff, WSBTV com News. "Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hospital names new facility in honor of Arthur Blank". WSBTV. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  13. Straus, Brian. "In 2017, get ready to watch Atlanta United FC in MLS". Sports Illustrated.
  14. Reference for Business: "Arthur Blank" retrieved October 18, 2014
  15. National Parks Conservation Association: "The Visionaries - Diana J. Blank" retrieved October 18, 2014
  16. Atlanta Business Journals: "A longtime anonymous donor reveals her identity" by Maria Saporta September 18, 2015
  17. Point's North magazine: "Stephanie Blank" Archived October 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine May 2010
  18. Levine, Daniel S. (February 6, 2017). "Arthur Blank's Wives & Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  19. Saporta Report: "Arthur Blank says purchasing soccer team for Atlanta is ‘close to his heart’" April 17, 2014
  20. Kenly News: "DWIGHT PARRISH" Archived October 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine July 2014 Obituaries
  21. Ledbetter, D. Orlando (January 1, 2019). "Arthur Blank, wife Angela are getting a divorce". Atlanta Journal Constitution.
  22. Jewish Voice New York: "Jewish Billionaires Join Group Pledging Majority of Their Wealth to Charity" by Sholom Schreiber April 25, 2005
  23. The Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Blank announces he is ‘cancer free’" by D. Orlando Ledbetter March 17, 2016
Business positions
Preceded by
Bernard Marcus
CEO of Home Depot
1997–2000
Succeeded by
Robert Nardelli
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