Conrad Black

He married Joanna Hishon, a secretary working in his brother’s office, in 1978. The couple had three children and divorced in 1992.

He married journalist Barbara Amiel shortly after his divorce.

He was born in Quebec to George Black and Jean Elizabeth Riley. His father was the president of Canadian Winnipeg Breweries while his mother was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. His family was very well-to-do. He has one brother.

He first went to Upper Canada College from where he was expelled when he was caught stealing and selling exam papers. He then moved to Trinity College School where again he was expelled for bad behavior.

He kept hopping from one college to another before finally completing his law degree from Universite Laval in 1970 and a Master of Arts degree in history from McGill University in 1973.

Along with his partners David Radler and Peter White, he began acquiring several small Canadian newspapers and formed a holding company Sterling Newspapers Ltd.

His father died in 1976 leaving him and his brother a 22.4% stake in Ravelston Corporation which held a major voting control in Argus Corporation, a large Canadian holding company.

Black became a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1977. Because of his father’s influence he had become acquainted with the prominent businessmen Bud McDougald and E. P. Taylor, the founder of Argus.

He acquired Ravelston and Argus with a payment of $30 million in 1978 after the death of McDougald. At the age of 33 Black’s acquisition of Argus, one of Canada’s largest conglomerates came as a big surprise to business establishments.

He withdrew over $56 million from the Dominion workers’ pension plan in 1984 for his shareholders without consulting plan members. The Dominion Union took him to court and ordered the company to return the money to the pension fund.

Conrad Black was a highly influential business tycoon who once controlled Hollinger International which was once one of the world’s largest English language newspaper publishers. He was however fired from the board of directors once his fraudulent practices came to light.