Luigi Mangione, an Ivy League-educated engineer, was identified as a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside an investor conference in New York City in December 2024. After a multiday manhunt, authorities arrested Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police said they recovered a gun and fake identification.
At the time of his arrest, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione had ties to Maryland, San Francisco, and Honolulu and no prior arrest history in New York.
“A man was taken into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania this morning. He has been identified as Luigi Nicholas Mangione,” Kenny said in a statement at the time. “He’s a male, 26 years old, he was born and raised in Maryland. We know he has ties to San Francisco, California, and his last known address was Honolulu, Hawaii. He has no prior arrest history in New York.”
Since then, Mangione has faced charges at both the state and federal level and has pleaded not guilty. As the case continues to move through the courts with ongoing pre-trial hearings, attention has also turned to his background.
Below, take a look at Mangione’s education and work history.
Luigi Mangione Attended the Gilman School
According to multiple outlets, Mangione attended a boys’ private school in Baltimore, Maryland, called the Gilman School. The school’s website promotes, “The pursuit of excellence begins here.” Gilman’s tuition and fees for high school students starts at $37,000 per year.
CBS News reported that Mangione was the valedictorian of his graduating high school class in 2016.
In response to Mangione’s arrest, the head of Gilman, Henry P.A. Smyth, wrote in an email obtained by CNN, “This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.”
Mangione Studied Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania
Mangione went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in engineering, computer, and information science, according to a LinkedIn profile that appears to be his. Mangione also minored in mathematics.
While attending UPenn — an Ivy League school — Mangione worked as the project lead of a university video game development program from 2016 to 2020, per his LinkedIn. In 2019, he was a teaching assistant for the “head of recitation committee.”
Where Did Mangione Work?
Mangione had been working as a data engineer for TrueCar, Inc, in Santa Monica, California, for four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. However, his LinkedIn page notes that he had been living in Hawaii.
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