[5] From his father's second marriage, he had two half-siblings, David Anthony Drexel[6] (who married Joan Gripenberg, a daughter of G. A. Gripenberg, the Finnish Minister to London, Sweden, and the United Nations),[7] and Jane Barbour Drexel[8] (who married Harry Marshall Vale Jr.,[9][10] and John Porteous II).
[12][13] His aunt, Alice Gordon Drexel, was a debutante who eloped Captain William Barrett, of the Army Air Service,[14][15][16] after which his grandparents relocated to Paris.
"[18] Drexel spent much of his childhood in Neuilly, France, where his grandmother lived, and was educated at St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts before attending Harvard University, graduated in 1942.
[1] Throughout most of his life, Drexel managed his family's finances and directed its philanthropic endeavors, focusing on local hospitals and animal shelters.
[22] Together, they were the parents of:[1][23] The Drexels lived in New York City, Palm Beach, and Newport, Rhode Island.