“A lot of people do planning for after they pass, but it seems to me you ought to give it away before you pass. That way you can see what’s going on with it,” says Marc. “I’d had enough of that building and thought it was time to sell it. But I support what Cato does, so I spoke to my accountant about donating the property, which ended up making sense for me and Cato.”
Ultimately, Marc was able to help Cato while benefiting from a tax deduction for the full value of the property and avoiding paying capital gains taxes that would have accompanied a sale of the property. Marc grew up in suburban Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in the 1950s and ’60s. Today, he recalls becoming weary of authority and “the chain of command” early in life and credits the influence of his entrepreneurial parents. Marc’s father was in business for himself as a repairman, and his mom stayed at home to manage the business and family. Marc remembers his dad being overburdened by the government simply because he needed a truck for his business.
“One of the things that drew me to the Cato way of thinking—less government— was that it always seemed like there were bureaucrats harassing people for no good reason,” says Marc. “When the city came by to give my dad a citation for having the wrong tag to park in his own driveway, it seemed to me that made no sense.”
Marc said his mother gave him an appreciation for differing viewpoints and a curiosity about how other people think. “My mom would always say, ‘What does the other guy think?,’” he recalls.
After graduating from Miami University, Marc stayed in Oxford, Ohio, to open his first business. The Wild Berry was founded in 1971 as a leather shop specializing in Marc’s handmade belts, bracelets, sandals, purses, and incense.
“As the business grew, I realized I couldn’t make everything by hand and began to bring in other people’s stuff, but always from the start, I was making incense,” Marc says. “After I couldn’t find another company who could make the incense as well as we did, a light bulb went off, and I thought, ‘well, I’ll just sell this to other people.’”
Combining a superior product with insights from years as a retailer enabled Marc to build Wild Berry Incense into a major success. And over the years, that success has allowed him to continue increasing his support for the causes that are most important to him.
“What I like about Cato is its focus on the story behind the story—what’s really making things happen,” he says. “I’m preaching to the choir, but I believe a person can make their own best decision.”
