Billionaires are made in many ways. Nuclear physicist Peter Buck, for example, turned a $1,000 loan to his son’s teenage friend into Subway — the world’s largest chain of fast-food restaurants. While the company has had its share of struggles in recent years, since its founding in the 1960s, Subway has grown to have locations in more than 100 countries. Buck, who was worth $1.7 billion, passed away in November 2021 at the age of 90, leaving behind children, grandchildren and a legacy of philanthropy.
Founded in 1999, the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation (PCLB Foundation) is a family foundation started by the couple, now both deceased. Though the foundation and family have historically flown well under the radar, PCLB is a strong and steady backer of education, particularly charter schools and networks. As I recently noted in a piece about the Kovner Foundation, while education reform and charters have lost some of their momentum when it comes to K-12 philanthropy, there are still funders who steadily continue to beat that drum, and PCLB is one of them.
However, all the giving the foundation has done so far may pale in comparison to what’s in store as a result of the recent news that PCLB will inherit a 50% stake in Subway restaurants — a gift that could be worth upward of $5 billion. That windfall could turn a family foundation that few have likely even heard of into a new philanthropic juggernaut.
Several Buck family members, including his two sons, are on the board of PCLB. But what has the foundation supported in the past? What interests might the Bucks’ heirs bring to the foundation? And what should we expect going forward?
Education, the environment and more
Much of the discourse surrounding the huge Subway bequest has focused on the potential tax boon, a la similar critiques of Yvon Chouinard and the donation of the family’s stake in Patagonia. The move does signal a huge transfer of wealth on the horizon. But it’s also true that the family’s foundation already had a decent asset base and had been increasing its grantmaking for years. PCLB gave around $8 million in the 2011 fiscal year, which rose to about $15 million in 2013, and to $25.6 million in 2019. In 2022, PCLB gave away nearly $33 million. Assets have hovered above a half-billion in recent years.
If anything, PCLB Foundation is an example of yet another under-the-radar foundation working with the kind of money that, in an earlier era of philanthropy, would have put them in the upper tier of the sector. While they may be dwarfed by the Scotts and Gateses of today, there are many foundations and donors operating at this level, tapping wealth from a variety of sectors — wealth that only accumulates as the years go by.
And where has this money gone? As mentioned, education is the main focus of PCLB Foundation’s grantmaking. A website description states that the goal is to “provide all students the opportunities afforded by a high quality, K-12 public education — one that fully prepares them for success in life.” In 2022, about $25 million of the $32.7 million went to education. Much of this grantmaking took place in the family’s backyard of Connecticut and nearby New York City. In the 2020 fiscal year alone, the foundation gave $4.5 million to Achievement First, $1.75 million to Prospect Charter Schools, and $1.3 million to Northeast Charter Schools Network.
Land conservation is another interest, receiving $3 million. The foundation also works in medical research, journalism, gives locally in the Danbury, Connecticut, area, and engages in special projects — often with an international focus.
The Buck legacy
Christopher Buck, Peter Buck’s older son, received an environmental science degree from University of Connecticut, graduating in 1999. He has spent the bulk of his career working in this field, initially as an environmental scientist. Christopher is currently an environmental project manager at Down to Earth Consulting, which engages in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering for commercial, residential, industrial and infrastructure projects. The firm helps builders navigate environmental risks, codes and regulations, including a focus on brownfield redevelopment.
So it stands to reason that the foundation’s environmental grantmaking will continue to hold strong. Buck himself was considered the seventh-largest landholder in the country, according to one ranking, with holdings that include more than 1.2 million acres of timberland in Maine. PCLB has a particular interest in land conservation, building land trusts and supporting youth camping, recently supporting Adirondack Land Trust, Scenic Hudson, Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy and Girl Scouts of Connecticut, among others. Buck’s own large land holdings may come into play at some point, as well.
Buck’s other son, William, keeps a lower profile, but there are other family members involved with PCLB, including Buck’s sister-in-law Vera Lourenco, who has worked in election observation in Africa. The family also has ties via Carmen Lucia to Brazil, which has historically seen support. In 2009, the Bucks founded The Fundação, a health clinic in her hometown of Vila Velha.
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PCLB Foundation also funds medical causes, supporting Doctors Without Borders and Callen-Lorde, an LGBTQ community health clinic.
Ultimately, PCLB has been a strong backer of charters and has shown other philanthropic interests, as well, including the outdoors and land conservation. And with potentially $5 billion more in funds to spend, PCLB could emerge as one of the largest foundations in the country.