Arthur M. Blank (born September 27, 1942) is an American businessman and a co-founder of the home improvement retailer The Home Depot. 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. Life Arthur Blank was born to a Jewish family in Flushing, New York. 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. After graduating from Babson Institute in 1963, 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 received 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, 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. 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. Sports ownership In February 2002, Blank purchased the Atlanta Falcons franchise in the National Football