Billionaire, entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael DeGroote died earlier this week, almost a month after his 89th birthday.
DeGroote was well known for his contributions to Hamilton, Ont.'s McMaster University, an institution he and his family donated millions in support of medical research and higher education.
DeGroote immigrated to Canada from Belgium in 1948 at the age of 14, leaving school when he was in Grade 9 in order to support his family.
In 1959, he purchased trucking operation Laidlaw Transport which he would ultimately transform into the continent’s largest school-bus company and third-largest waste-management company.
He became the first philanthropist in Canada to have a medical school named after him, and the first in Ontario to have a business school named after him, both at McMaster.
McMaster says his contributions helped propel advances in areas including, infectious disease and antibiotic resistance, pain management, health management, executive development and student support.
In 1990, DeGroote retired to Bermuda, where after just a few months, according to his obituary, he became "bored," deciding to "continue his business endeavours."
That same year, DeGroote was made an officer of the Order of Canada.
Despite his positive business and philanthropic impact throughout his career, there were some bumps in the road.
In 1993, he along with several associates paid $23 million to the Ontario Securities Commission to settle allegations of insider trading in Laidlaw Inc. shares.
In 2011, he made a regrettable investment into a chain of casinos in the Caribbean that led to him getting caught up in an international spat.
DeGroote leaves behind four children, 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept.15, 2022.
The Canadian Press
