Late Subway co-founder left 50% of the chain to a charitable foundation he set ... trends now
Half of Subway - the world's largest fast food chain - will soon be owned by a charity created by the company's late co-founder, the foundation announced Monday.
The multibillion-dollar donation comes from the late Peter Buck, a former nuclear physicist whose $1,000 investment helped create the sandwich empire.
Buck died in 2021 at age 90, but apparently left instructions in his will to give 50 percent of the chain to a charitable foundation he and his wife set up in 1999.
The donation, potentially valued at up to $5billion, creates a possible complication as Subway execs have reportedly have been weighing interest in a potential sale of the corporate entity.
The multibillion-dollar donation comes from the late Peter Buck, a former nuclear physicist whose $1,000 investment helped create the sandwich empire. He died at age 90 in 2021
The donation, potentially valued at up to $5billion, creates a possible complication as Subway execs have reportedly have been weighing interest in a potential sale of the corporate entity
The stipulation was announced by the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation Tuesday, in a statement that claimed it had been in the works for more than a decade.
'This gift will allow the foundation to greatly expand its philanthropic endeavors and impact many more lives,' wrote Carrie Schindele, executive director of the Connecticut charity, which supports causes related to education and health care.
'Especially our work to create educational opportunities for all students,' said Schindele. 'Work Dr. Buck cared so deeply about.'
The charity, founded by Buck and the late Carmen Lucia Buck, provides services for elementary school students across the country as well as seniors in Danbury, where the couple lived for many years.
Subway has more than 40,000 locations worldwide, topping McDonald's and Starbucks. It is reportedly valued at $10billion - meaning Buck's donation amounts to roughly $5billion
Through means, such as grants and counseling, the private family firm seeks to improve the quality of life in the communities it serves, and has donated millions over the years to hospitals in Connecticut.
The firm also employs both of the couple's sons, William and Christopher Buck, who serve as executives on its board.
The brothers, along with CFO Ben Benoit, are the sole executors of Buck's estate.
Forbe's confirmed the contents of Buck's will in a report Friday, writing that they had obtained a copy.
The report comes amid rumors of a potential sale of the company. Since its meteoric rise in the early 2000s, it has struggled to stay relevant, closing dozens of stores and restructuring franchisee operations amid a decline in earnings
The donation constitutes Buck's full share of the $10billion company, which has been owned by its two founding families for more than five decades.
Buck was 34 when he partnered with Fred DeLuca, a 17-year-old New Yorker who was a friend of Buck's family.
Seeking to start a humble sandwich shop in Bridgeport, DeLuca besieged the then nuclear physicist to back his vision.
Buck, who had the time was designing power plants in the area, provided the seed funds of $1,000 – and the rest is history.
The pair opened 'Pete's Super Submarines', with the priciest sandwich selling for 69 cents.
The day their shop opened, on August 28, Buck and De Luca sold out of their foot-long subs - still a staple of the chain's menu today.
The duo changed the name to 'Subway' three years later and decided to turn it into a chain by franchising - a move that would eventually make both of them billionaires.
Subway was founded co-found by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck in 1965, with DeLuca (above) serving as CEO during the peak of the restaurant's popularity
'We didn't make a profit for 15 years,' Buck told The Wall Street Journal in 2014.
Forbes estimated Buck's net worth at $1.7 billion. DeLuca died in 2015 at age 67.
The says it now has more than 40,000 locations
