Owner of Home Depot Net Worth: Who Really Owns It Today in 2026
The phrase “owner of Home Depot net worth” sounds simple, but the real answer is more layered than most people expect. Home Depot is a public company, so it doesn’t have one single “owner” the way a private business does. Instead, it’s owned by millions of shareholders. Still, there are a few names that matter most: the biggest institutions, the largest individual shareholder, and the founders whose early stakes helped create enormous fortunes.
Quick Facts
- Company: The Home Depot, Inc.
- Type: Publicly traded company
- How it’s owned: Shareholders (institutions, insiders, and everyday investors)
- Largest individual shareholder (often cited): Kenneth G. Langone
- Most common “founder” names: Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank
- Estimated net worth of Kenneth G. Langone (2026): About $9.3 billion (widely reported estimate)
- Born: September 16, 1935
- Age (as of 2026): 90
- Spouse: Elaine Langone
- Children: 3
- Known for outside Home Depot: Investor, financier, philanthropist; linked to major NYU gifts
Kenneth G. Langone Bio
Kenneth G. Langone is a billionaire investor and financier best known for helping put the early funding together that allowed Home Depot to launch and scale. While many people think of “owners” as the founders who ran the company day-to-day, Langone’s influence was foundational because money and structure matter as much as ideas. Over the decades, he became one of the most recognized individuals connected to Home Depot, both because of his early role and because he has remained one of the company’s most significant individual shareholders.
Elaine Langone Bio
Elaine Langone is best known publicly as Kenneth Langone’s wife and philanthropic partner. While she keeps a lower profile than her husband, her name is closely connected to major charitable giving, especially in education and health-related causes. As a couple, they’ve been associated with large-scale philanthropy that reflects a long-term focus on legacy building, not just wealth building.
First, Let’s Clear Up the “Owner” Confusion
If you search “owner of Home Depot,” you’re probably hoping for one person with one net worth number. But Home Depot is publicly traded, which means:
- No single person owns Home Depot outright.
- Ownership is split into shares. If you own shares, you own a piece of the company.
- The biggest “owners” are usually institutions, like investment firms and index funds, because they hold enormous amounts of shares for clients.
So when people say “the owner,” they’re usually talking about one of three things:
- The biggest individual shareholder (the person with the most shares)
- The founders (the names most tied to the brand story)
- The biggest institutions (the entities with the largest ownership percentage)
That’s why you’ll see different names depending on who wrote the answer.
Who Is the Closest Thing to the “Owner” of Home Depot?
If you want the closest real-world match to what people mean by “owner,” the most common answer is Kenneth G. Langone. He’s widely reported as Home Depot’s largest individual shareholder, and he has been tied to the company for decades. While he isn’t the day-to-day CEO and wasn’t the “face” of the stores the way a founder might be, he’s often the name that comes up when people ask, “Who owns the biggest chunk?”
In plain language: if you’re looking for the most prominent individual “owner” figure, Langone is usually the name you’ll see.
Kenneth G. Langone Net Worth in 2026
In 2026, Kenneth G. Langone’s net worth is widely estimated at around $9.3 billion. You’ll see slightly different numbers depending on the source and the date the estimate was updated, because billionaire wealth changes with market moves. But the big picture is consistent: Langone is a multi-billionaire, and his wealth puts him among America’s richest business figures.
It’s important to understand what that number represents. It is not “cash in the bank.” Net worth is the value of everything someone owns, minus what they owe. For someone like Langone, much of that value can be tied to:
- Stock holdings
- Private investments
- Business ownership stakes
- Real estate and other assets
So even though people search for a clean number, the wealth is often spread across many categories.
How Langone Built a Fortune Connected to Home Depot
Langone’s Home Depot story is a reminder that big businesses are built by more than one type of “builder.” Some people build stores. Others build financing. Others build the networks and deals that allow a company to scale safely. Langone is most known for being the financing and deal-making side of the origin story.
1) Early Financing and Deal Structure
Home Depot’s rise wasn’t just luck. It needed early capital, strong backing, and a structure that gave the company room to grow. Helping make those early pieces happen can be incredibly valuable because it often leads to equity, influence, and long-term upside if the company becomes a giant.
2) Long-Term Equity Value
Home Depot became one of the most successful retail stories in American history. When someone holds meaningful shares for a long time, that compounding effect can be powerful. Even if a person’s stake is “only” a small percentage, a small percentage of a massive company can still be worth an extraordinary amount.
3) Broader Investing and Business Interests
Langone’s wealth is not only about Home Depot. Billionaires in his category typically have broad portfolios, and that diversification can keep wealth strong even when one company has a slower year. That’s a major reason his net worth has remained so high over time.
What About the Founders: Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank?
When people ask “who owns Home Depot,” they also mean “who started it?” That’s where the founders come in.
Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank are the two names most people recognize as the faces of the founding story. They helped turn a big idea into a national chain, and their stakes became extremely valuable as the company grew. Over time, founders often sell shares, donate shares, or spread assets into other ventures, so their current “ownership” can change.
In other words: founders are often the emotional answer to “owner,” even when the technical answer is “shareholders.”
Bernie Marcus Net Worth and Legacy
Bernie Marcus was long described as a billionaire thanks to Home Depot’s success. His fortune was also strongly linked to philanthropy later in life. For many people, his name stays connected to Home Depot because he represented the original retail vision: big stores, wide selection, strong pricing, and the kind of scale that changed home improvement shopping forever.
Arthur Blank Net Worth and the “Owner” Myth
Arthur Blank is another name people often call the “owner,” especially because he stayed famous as a billionaire through other high-visibility ventures. Many casual searches confuse his role as “founder” with “owner,” but it’s understandable: he’s one of the most recognizable Home Depot-linked billionaires, and his public profile has remained huge for decades.
The key thing to remember is this: both founders helped create the company, but the company is now owned by the public markets.
The Biggest Owners of Home Depot Are Usually Institutions
If we’re being completely accurate, the most powerful “owners” of Home Depot are not individuals. They’re institutions. Large investment firms and index fund managers often hold significant ownership because they manage money for:
- Retirement accounts
- Pensions
- Mutual funds and ETFs
- Everyday investors who buy index funds
These firms may hold shares on behalf of clients, but they still carry major voting power and influence because they control so many shares. That’s one reason “ownership” in a public company feels different than ownership in a private business. The real power is distributed, but heavily concentrated among the largest financial institutions.
So What’s the Real Answer to “Owner of Home Depot Net Worth”?
The simplest honest answer looks like this:
- Home Depot does not have one owner. It’s owned by shareholders.
- The biggest ownership stakes are often held by institutions, not one person.
- If you mean the largest individual shareholder, Kenneth G. Langone is widely cited as that person.
- If you mean the founders people think of as “owners,” Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank are the best-known names.
And if you only want the net worth number most people are truly asking for, it’s this:
Kenneth G. Langone’s net worth in 2026 is estimated at about $9.3 billion.
Why Net Worth Estimates Vary So Much
Even when everyone is talking about the same person, net worth estimates can be all over the place. That doesn’t always mean someone is lying. It usually means net worth is hard to measure from the outside. Here’s why:
- Stock prices move daily, so wealth tied to shares rises and falls constantly.
- Private investments aren’t public, so outsiders can only guess their value.
- Real estate values vary by market timing and how properties are held.
- People confuse “ownership percentage” with “total wealth.” Someone can own a small piece of a massive company and still be extremely rich.
That’s why it’s better to treat net worth like a range and a snapshot, not a permanent label.
Bottom Line
Home Depot is a public company, so it’s owned by shareholders, not one single “owner.” But if you’re searching for the closest thing to an individual owner, the name most commonly tied to that idea is Kenneth G. Langone, who is widely cited as the company’s largest individual shareholder. In 2026, his net worth is commonly estimated at around $9.3 billion, reflecting decades of investing, deal-making, and long-term connection to one of America’s most successful retail giants.
image source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/home-depot-co-founder-bernie-marcus-reflects-life-helping-others