Peter Buck, one of the co-founders of Subway, has died. He was 90.
Dr. Peter Buck died on Nov. 18 in Danbury, Connecticut, according to the New York Times.
Subway’s official Twitter account also confirmed the news of Dr. Buck’s death, writing, “Our co-founder, Dr. Peter Buck has passed.
He was 90. A kindhearted physicist & philanthropist, Dr. Peter Buck made a lasting impact, leaving behind a spirit of hard work & dedication across nearly 40,000 locations. His legacy continues through Subway®, a brand he worked hard to build.”
Our co-founder, Dr. Peter Buck has passed. He was 90. A kindhearted physicist & philanthropist, Dr. Buck made a lasting impact, leaving behind a spirit of hard work & dedication across nearly 40,000 locations. His legacy continues through Subway®, a brand he worked hard to build.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of one of Subway’s founders, Dr. Peter Buck,” Subway CEO John Chidsey said in a statement to CNN. “He was a shining example of a dedicated, hands-on leader, and an integral member of the Subway family.”
A cause of death has not been announced.
Dr. Buck, a nuclear physicist, helped co-found one of the most well-known fast-food chains in the world in the 1960s
“One day, my wife and I and the kids were having a picnic in the backyard, and we had invited our friends Sal and Carmela DeLuca, and young Fred DeLuca, too,” Dr. Buck said in a YouTube video explaining the story of Subway’s origins. “At some point during the picnic, Fred came to me and said, ‘Hey Pete, what can I do to get some money so I can go to college?’ … I said, ‘Let’s open a submarine sandwich store.’ “
Per Subway’s website, Dr. Buck gave DeLuca $1,000 to open a sandwich shop to “help pay his tuition,” and the pair opened their first sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1965. The restaurant chain was originally founded under the name “Pete’s Super Submarines,” but was changed to Subway three years later, according to CBS News.
According to Forbes, Dr. Peter Buck was worth $1.7 billion at the time of his death; however, the self-made billionaire kept a relatively low profile throughout the years, and donated much of his fortune to charity over the course of his life, including over $216 million to the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, which was founded in 1999.