 López's cousin is Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation.López studied at the Colegio Santiago de León de Caracas and graduated from boarding school in the US at the Hun School of Princeton, where he was captain of the crew and swim teams, and vice president of the student council.In 1989, López told the student newspaper at the Hun School, "The Mall", that "Being away from home created an awakening of the responsibility I have towards the people of my country.