Canadian-born Conrad Black, or Lord Black of Crossharbour as he is now known, is one of Britain's most controversial and dogged press barons.

Through titles like the Daily Telegraph, Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post he has amassed huge power and status in Europe, the US and even the Middle East.

While maintaining a bombastic front, the payment of $32 million in "unauthorised" payments to senior management at Hollinger Inc, among them Lord Black, could end the peer's reign at the head of a vast newspaper empire.

While the payment of such large sums is damaging for Lord Black, non-disclosure of the payments to investors and the Hollinger board could prove more damaging in the long term.

Lord Black is well known for his lavish lifestyle with homes in New York, Palm Beach, Florida and London. His private jets and expensive shoes for his wife, columnist Barbara Amiel, are regularly commented upon in the British press.

Lord Black's future now is uncertain. But in a recent interview he said: "I just want to make sure that I'm not completely out of step with the times and not facing some sort of cascade of events I'm underprepared for."