Asked about his ambitions, Mr Feeney once said: “I want the last cheque I write to bounce.”

As a businessman, Chuck Feeney was remorseless in his pursuit of profit, squirreling away his fortune in tax havens and always driving a hard bargain. Having achieved a cash pile of some £4bn, he has been no less assiduous in giving all of it away.

Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation set up by the 83-year-old American billionaire with the instruction to dispense his entire fortune before his death, made one of its final donations today, after three decades of giving, by pledging nearly £25m to Northern Ireland.

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Related links: The Atlantic Philanthropies