Jersey Mike’s Founder Is Worth $7 Billion After Blackstone Deal

In 1975, Peter Cancro made a decision that would shock most parents: Abandon his plans to attend college and go deep into debt to buy a sandwich shop. A half-century later, the choice has made him a multibillionaire.

Jersey Mike’s announced Tuesday it was selling a majority stake to Blackstone Inc. in a deal valuing the restaurant chain at about $8 billion. That gives Cancro, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, a net worth of $7 billion and vaults him into the ranks of the world’s 500 richest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Peter Cancro

Photographer: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

Jersey ...