Entrepreneur Arthur Blank capitalized on America’s early do-it-yourself home improvement movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s by establishing Home Depot (HD) . Later in life, he focused on building a sports empire and buying vast acreage in Montana.
Here’s how Blank founded Home Depot and parlayed that success into other investments that became the Blank Family of Businesses.
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Who is Arthur Blank?
Blank is a businessman, philanthropist, and sports team owner. He was born in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York in 1942, and received a bachelor of science degree in business administration, with distinction, from Babson College in 1963.
After starting home improvement retailer Home Depot in 1979, Blank served as co-chairman until his retirement in 2001.
What is Arthur Blank’s net worth?
Blank’s net worth comes from various sources, including his shares in Home Depot. His family of businesses range from sports to property and retail. Forbes estimated Blank’s net worth at $8.1 billion as of late July 2024.
A year after retiring from Home Depot, Blank took ownership of the Atlanta Falcons football team for $545 million in 2002. He reportedly owns a 70% stake in the Falcons, according to Sports Business Journal, and Forbes set the value of the team at $4.7 billion. Based on the stake, Blank’s ownership in the Falcons would be valued at $3.3 billion.
Blank also owns a stake in Major League Soccer team Atlanta United FC, which plays in the same field — the Mercedes-Benz Stadium — as the Falcons.
When did Arthur Blank found Home Depot?
Arthur Blank, with Bernie Marcus, founded Home Depot in the late 1970s after reportedly being fired from a home improvement company where Marcus was CEO and Blank the vice president for finance. At a coffee shop in Los Angeles in 1978, they thought of a plan to create a superstore for do-it-yourselfers that offered a variety of merchandise at affordable prices and would be staffed by employees who assisted customers with their home repair or improvement projects.
Blank and Marcus sought help from investment banker Kenneth Langone, who provided financing, and merchandising expert Pat Farrah, who helped the pair develop their business plan. The first two Home Depot stores opened in Atlanta in 1979.
By 1981, despite a period of rising consumer prices known as the Great Inflation, Home Depot went public. The home improvement retailer now operates more than 2,000 stores in the U.S. and more than 300 in Canada and Mexico.
How has Home Depot’s stock performed since the company went public in 1981?
Home Depot’s stock has made significant gains since it went public in 1981. A $10,000 investment in the company on its first day of public trading would be worth more than $116 million as of late July 2024.
How does Arthur Blank spend his money?
Blank donates to charity and spends his money on a variety of investment opportunities. Blank signed on to the Giving Pledge movement — whose pledgers include billionaire investor Warren Buffett and major Amazon shareholder Mackenzie Scott — in 2012 and committed to donate more than half of his wealth.
Blank has donated more than $1 billion dollars to charitable organizations, mainly in the states of Georgia and Montana, using his family’s own money and that from his Atlanta-based foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
According to a 2022 tax filing compiled by ProPublica, a nonprofit organization dedicated to investigative journalism, the Blank Foundation, which was established in 1994, made $101 million in charitable contributions. The foundation’s initiatives included fighting childhood obesity in Georgia and renewable energy projects.
More on founders’ net worth:
- Steve Wozniak’s net worth: The Apple cofounder’s wealth in 2024
- Mark Zuckerberg's net worth: What the Facebook founder makes as CEO of Meta
- Bill Gates' net worth: Just how much has he made — and given away?
Blank owns and operates four ranches in Montana that span tens of thousands of acres, through his holding company AMB West. The Mountain Sky Guest Ranch is an upscale dude ranch that caters to wealthy vacationers and covers over 17,000 acres near Yellowstone National Park.
The 6,600-acre West Creek Ranch serves as a destination and meeting place for individuals focused on leadership development and community building, among other objectives. The 9,300-acre Paradise Valley Ranch is focused on conservation, while the 6,278-acre Dome Mountain Property features lodging for guests to experience nature close to Yellowstone National Park.
Blank’s family of businesses also includes the PGA TOUR Superstore, a golf retailer with dozens of stores across the country that sell equipment, clothing, accessories, and golf lessons.
In politics, Blank, reportedly a lifelong Democrat, donated to President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, as well as to the 2024 re-election before Biden decided to forgo a second term.
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