Peter Buck, the co-founder of the multinational fast-food chain Subway, has died at the age of 90, The New York Post reported Friday.
According to the outlet, Buck had allegedly been ill for a long time. He passed away at the Danbury Hospital in Connecticut, the New York Post reported.
Buck, who was a nuclear physicist at the time, gave his friend’s son a loan of $1,000 to set up the sandwich shop in 1965. That loan kickstarted a career that would see him become a billionaire, according to the New York Post.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of one of Subway’s founders, Dr. Peter Buck, he was a shining example of a dedicated, hands-on leader, and an integral member of the Subway family,” Subway chief executive John Chidsey said in a statement.
Peter Buck, the 90-year-old man who helped fund the first Subway alongside businessman Fred DeLuca, died Thursday at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.
Buck’s net worth is estimated to be $1.7 billion.https://t.co/W3wf71wtWE
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 19, 2021
Buck had an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion and was a major donor to the PCLB foundation, an organization supporting family issues, donating over $216 million dollars, the New York Post reported. (RELATED: Subway Spokeswoman Says Their Tuna Is ‘Wild Caught’ And ‘High Quality’ After Lawsuit Claims Its Simply Not Tuna)
Fred DeLuca, the other founder of Subway, took the loan from Buck and opened the shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut. By 1973, the store had 16 locations throughout the state and, in 1974, the shop began to franchise, the New York Post reported.
Both original co-founders of Subway are now dead.
Subway is the second largest fast-food chain in the world, with $16 billion dollars in revenue in 2020, CNBC reported.