Arthur Blank

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Arthur Blank was born in Flushing, Queens, New York to Jewish parents Max Blank, a pharmacist, and Molly Blank. He has an older brother named Michael. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City and from Babson Institute in 1963. After working as a senior accountant at Arthur Young and Company, he joined Daylin corporation, becoming president of Elliott's Drug Stores/Stripe Discount Stores. When Daylin sold that division, he moved to Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers, where he was vice president of finance until he and CEO Bernard Marcus were fired in 1978. That year, Blank co-founded Home Depot with Marcus, with help from investor Ken Langone and merchandising expert Patrick Farrah. The first two stores opened on June 22, 1979 in Atlanta. Blank spent 19 years as president before succeeding Marcus as CEO, retiring in 2001 as co-chairman. On May 22, 2024, he won the Sports Business Journals Lifetime Achievement Award. In February 2002, Blank purchased the Atlanta Falcons from Rankin Smith Jr. In September 2004, he bought the Arena Football League franchise the Georgia Force. In 2023, he purchased Atlanta Drive GC of TGL. He founded Atlanta United FC, which began play in 2017. He also received an NWSL expansion team that will begin play in 2028. Blank is chairman of The Arthur Blank Family Foundation and serves on the Board of Trustees of Emory University. In March 2020, his foundation donated nearly $5.4 million for coronavirus pandemic response. In October 2020, it awarded a $20 million legacy grant for the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research at the University of Texas at Austin. Also in October 2020, it was announced that the new Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hospital would be named after Blank after his foundation donated $200 million; the Arthur M. Blank Hospital opened on September 29, 2024. In February 2026, the foundation committed $75 million to Blue Meridian Partners. Blank is a signatory of The Giving Pledge. He has been married and divorced three times, with three children from his first wife Diana, three from his second wife Stephanie, and married Angela Macuga in June 2016; they announced their pending divorce on January 1, 2019. He owns Mountain Sky Guest Ranch and West Creek Ranch in Montana, a superyacht named dr

In Their Own Story

The path to ownership began with a significant turning point in Blank's career: the internal power struggle at Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers that led to his firing alongside CEO Bernard Marcus in 1978. Rather than retreating, they co-founded The Home Depot later that year, with New York investment banker Ken Langone assembling the initial investors and merchandising expert Patrick Farrah helping realize their vision of one-stop shopping for do-it-yourselfers. The first two stores opened on June 22, 1979, in Atlanta, revolutionizing the home improvement business through a warehouse concept that eventually made both men billionaires. Decades later, Blank applied this same transformative energy to sports. On May 22, 2024, his lifelong dedication was recognized when he won the Sports Business Journal's Lifetime Achievement Award specifically for his work with the Falcons, United FC, and the surrounding community.

Reader's Guide

Arthur Blank is the co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of multiple Atlanta sports teams. He purchased the Atlanta Falcons in 2002 from Taylor Smith. He founded Atlanta United FC, which began play in 2017 and won the 2018 MLS Cup. He also owns Atlanta DriveGC (TGL), which won the 2025 SoFi Cup, and a future NWSL expansion team starting in 2028. His philanthropic foundation has donated to healthcare, stuttering research, and anti-poverty initiatives. The Arthur M. Blank Hospital opened on September 29, 2024.

Did You Know?

• Blank co-founded The Home Depot in 1978 with Bernard Marcus.
• He purchased the Atlanta Falcons in February 2002 from Rankin Smith Jr.
• The Arthur M. Blank Hospital opened on September 29, 2024.
• Blank owns a superyacht named dreAMBoat.