Arthur Blank
Arthur Blank (Arthur M. Blank) is an American businessman and philanthropist, a co-founder of the home-improvement retailer The Home DepotThe Home DepotThe Home Depot, Inc. is an American home improvement retailer, the world’s largest by net sales for fiscal 2025, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.Open the full entry, and the owner of the NFLNFLThe NFL (National Football League) is a U.S. professional American football league of 32 clubs. Founded in 1920 as the APFA and renamed in 1922, it is organized into the AFC and NFC, with the season culminating in the Super Bowl.Open the full entry’s Atlanta FalconsAtlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are an NFL professional American football team awarded a franchise in 1965 and beginning play in 1966. Founded by Rankin M. Smith and purchased by Arthur Blank in 2002, the team plays at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Its headquarters and practice facility are in Flowery Branch, Georgia.Open the full entry and Major League SoccerMLSMajor League Soccer (MLS) is a top-flight professional soccer league comprising clubs in the United States and Canada. Play began in 1996, and the league has 30 clubs divided between Eastern and Western Conferences in 2026.Open the full entry’s Atlanta United FCAtlanta United FCAtlanta United FC is a professional soccer club in Atlanta, Georgia, competing in Major League Soccer (MLS). Its home matches are played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.Open the full entry.
Contents14 sections
Key facts
1942–1963Birth and Education
Arthur M. Blank was born on September 27, 1942, in Queens, New York City, to Molly and Max Blank.[1][2]
He attended Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and received a BS in business administration with distinction in 1963.[1][3]
As an undergraduate in the early 1960s he ran a landscaping and laundry pick-up service to pay his expenses, and he finished college in three years.[4]
1963–1978From Accountant to Handy Dan
After graduating, Blank worked for an accounting firm for several years and then joined a small pharmaceutical company his father had started. Daylin bought the company in 1968; Blank stayed on and was sent to Daylin’s discount drugstore chain Griffin as its controller.[2]
1978–2001Co-Founding and Running The Home Depot
In 1978 Blank and Marcus were fired from Handy Dan, after which they pooled their assets to create The Home Depot.[2][4]
On June 22, 1979, The Home Depot opened its first two stores in Atlanta, which became the company’s official home.[2]
Blank served alongside Marcus as president and chief operating officer, and in 1997 he was elected chief executive officer and president.[1]
On December 5, 2000, The Home Depot announced that Robert Nardelli would succeed Blank as president and chief executive officer, and that Blank would join chairman Marcus as co-chairman.[5]
February 2002Buying the Atlanta Falcons
In February 2002 Blank bought the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons for $545 million. ForbesForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry estimates his stake in the team is now worth $6.7 billion.[2][4]
2012Signing the Giving Pledge
In 2012 Blank signed the Giving Pledge, committing to “give more than half of his wealth away.”[4]
2017Atlanta United FC’s First Season and the Opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium
2020Publishing Good Company
In 2020 Blank published Good Company, a national best-seller about applying the values used to build The Home Depot to other businesses.[3]
September 2024Arthur M. Blank Hospital Opens
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Arthur M. Blank Hospital opened on September 29, 2024; the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation had made a $200 million donation to the health system.[6]
November 2026Forbes Net Worth Estimate
Forbes’ real-time billionaires ranking estimated Blank’s net worth at $13.3 billion as of November 1, 2026, ranking him No. 232 in the world that day; Forbes lists the source of his wealth as The Home Depot and classifies him as self-made. He lives in Atlanta.[4]
The Blank Family of Businesses
The Blank Family of Businesses includes the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the nationwide golf retailer PGA TOUR Superstore and three ranches in Montana.[3]
He formerly owned the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League, which ended operations in 2009.[2]
Philanthropy
Blank is chairman of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which has granted more than $1 billion since 1995; its priority areas are youth development, democracy, the environment, mental health and well-being, and Atlanta’s historic Westside.[3]
During his 23 years with The Home Depot, the company donated more than $113 million to communities.[3]
In 2021 ESPN named him its Sports Philanthropist of the Year.[3]
Other Roles and Honors
In 2001 Blank became Emory University’s first Distinguished Executive in Residence. Georgia Trend twice named him the most respected CEO in Georgia, and in 2014 he was named a Georgia Trustee.[2]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation: Official website: https://www.blankfoundation.org/ (opens in a new window).[3]