Subway Co-founder Peter Buck Passes Away at Age 90

▲Peter Buck, Co-founder of Subway

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Peter Buck, co-founder of Subway, regarded as the most successful restaurant franchise in the United States, has passed away at the age of 90.

Buck was born on December 19, 1930, on a farm south of Portland, Maine, USA. He studied economics at Bowdoin College in Maine and graduated in 1952. He then attended Columbia University, earning a master's and doctoral degree in physics, and worked as a nuclear physicist until 1965.

His connection to Subway began when he lent $1,000 to Fred DeLuca, the son of a friend and another co-founder of Subway, under the pretext of college tuition. This $1,000 became startup capital rather than tuition. At the time, 17-year-old DeLuca sought advice from Buck regarding college admission and tuition, and Buck readily lent him $1,000, making them business partners.

Subway grew into a global restaurant chain operating approximately 40,000 stores worldwide through aggressive store expansion.

However, Subway did not immediately achieve success. Buck mentioned in a 2014 interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), "We did not make a profit for 15 years after founding."

Meanwhile, according to Forbes, Peter Buck's fortune is estimated at about $1.7 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion KRW).

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