Billionaire Bermuda resident Michael DeGroote has given $105 million to McMaster University in Canada ? the largest cash gift in Canadian history.

Mr. DeGroote, 70, a high school drop-out, is originally from Hamilton, Ontario, but he now lives on the Island.

The lion?s share of the cash, $64 million, will go into an endowment fund for education, healthcare and medical research. The remaining $41 million will be used for construction and outfitting of laboratories and hospital units.

Mr. DeGroote bought and grew Laidlaw Transport into the largest school bus operator and the third largest waste management company in the United States.

He has a long-standing funding relationship with the university.

?The dividends of this investment will not only impact our community, but others around the world,? Mr. DeGroote said.

He was involved in a bitter court battle with Bermuda resident and heiress Marion MacMillan over the sale of Perot?s Island in Southampton in 1993.

Mr. DeGroote eventually gave up on his bid to buy the island for $8.5 million saying he was fed up with the court system.