[6] In the 1960s Palumbo commissioned Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to build a tower in London; although it was designed, it was never built.

He also expanded the grounds of the house by purchasing adjacent properties and placed in them the work of sculptors including Anthony Caro and Richard Serra.

Palumbo led the fundraising effort to restore and refurbish the Church of St Stephen Walbrook in London, a building designed by Sir Christopher Wren which had been badly damaged during the Blitz (World War II) – the sculptor Henry Moore was commissioned by Palumbo to create its stone altar.

[11] The former Rector of St Stephen Walbrook and founder of the Samaritans, Dr Chad Varah, also served as the Palumbo family chaplain.

[18] Lord Palumbo was a polo teammate of Charles, Prince of Wales, the two remaining close until 1984 when Charles publicly criticised Palumbo's plans to erect a building designed by Mies van der Rohe near St Paul's Cathedral, describing it as "a glass stump"[6] which, faced with opposition, were not realised.