What to Know About Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooter Luigi Mangione's Family — and Why He's Been Estranged From Them For 6 Months

12/10/2024 02:32 PM

The alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter comes from a wealthy and prominent Maryland family

Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was raised in an affluent Maryland family.

The University of Pennsylvania graduate is the primary suspect in the Dec. 4 murder of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, where a masked gunman fired at least three shots. Five days after the shooting, Mangione was apprehended while at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., and was charged with murder that night.

Related: Who Is Luigi Mangione? What We Know About the Ivy League Grad Suspected of Shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Mangione grew up in Maryland and comes from a long line of successful relatives, including his cousin, Nino Mangione, an elected member of the Maryland House of Delegates, according to The New York Times. Per the outlet, he had not been in communication with most of his friends or family for months following a 2023 back surgery that caused him to go "dark."

On the night Mangione was detained, his cousin Nino put out a statement from the family on X in which he shared that they "cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione."

"We only know what we have read in the media," he said, adding that they are "shocked" and "devastated" by Mangione's arrest.

Nino continued, "We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved."

Here's everything to know about alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione's family.

His family raised him in Maryland

Mangione grew up in the Baltimore area, where his family has a storied past.

He graduated as valedictorian from an all-boys institution, Gilman School, in 2016. According to The New York Times, he thanked parents in a graduation speech for sending him and his classmates to the prestigious school, calling it "far from a small financial investment."

He has two sisters

Mangione has two sisters, MariaSanta and Luciana, according to USA Today. MariaSanta is a physician at the University of Texas Southwestern, per her Vanderbilt School of Medicine profile, while Luciana is a visual artist, according to Voyage Baltimore.

When asked by the outlet what matters most in her life, Luciana said, "Family."

"In my experience, life's pinnacle moments of joy have come in the moments shared with those whom I love," she said.

According to USA Today, Luciana posted a since-deleted Instagram photo with her brother on the day he was detained and wrote, "Praying for you."

His cousin is a Maryland Republican delegate

Mangione comes from a prominent Maryland family, as his cousin, Nino, represents part of Baltimore County as the Maryland Republican delegate, per CBS News.

In response to the allegations against Mangione, Nino posted a statement on behalf of the family on X in which he said they were "devastated" by the news.

His late grandfather was a real estate developer

According to The Baltimore Banner, Mangione's late grandfather, Nicholas Mangione Sr., was a self-made multimillionaire real estate developer who died in 2008.

Per the outlet, Nicholas told The Baltimore Sun in 1995 that he had a response at the ready when someone asked how he was able to afford a high-profile country club he purchased in the 1970s.

"They asked me what family I belonged to. I told them, 'I belong to the Mangione family. The Mangione family of Baltimore County,' " he reportedly said.

Meanwhile, Mangione's grandmother Mary died in 2023 from complications from Parkinson's disease. According to CBS News, she was described in an obituary as a hospital benefactor and a music patron.

His relatives own several country clubs in the Baltimore area

According to The New York Times, Mangione's grandparents bought the Turf Valley Country Club in Ellicott City, Md., during the 1970s and developed the golf course community.

In the following decade, the family expanded their holdings by purchasing the Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley, Md.

Beyond country clubs, the Mangione family owned the conservative-leaning radio station WCBM, per The New York Times. Additionally, Mangione's father, Louis, became an owner of the nursing home company Lorien Health Services, where the suspect volunteered in high school, according to The Baltimore Banner.

Louis is also the point person for the Mangione Family Enterprises, per the outlet.

He stopped communicating with his friends and family after a back surgery

Aaron Cranston, a former Gilman School classmate of Mangione's, shared with The New York Times that he and other friends had received a forwarded message earlier this year asking if they knew Mangione's whereabouts as his family was trying to contact him.

He added thatthey hadn't heard from him in "several months" after sporadic communication following a back surgery he allegedly received in the summer of 2023.

R.J. Martin, the founder of Surfbreak, a co-living space that Mangione lived in for six months in Honolulu, told the outlet that Mangione's "spine was kind of misaligned."

"He said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve," Martin said, adding that he also stopped hearing from Mangione regularly shortly after his back surgery but received a text from him in April asking to catch up. However, they never did, and Mangione did not reply to Martin's May and June follow-up text messages.

According to a report by The San Francisco Standard, Mangione's mother, Kathleen Mangione, had reported him missing to the San Francisco Police Department on Nov. 18 after he displayed concerning behavior on several occasions.