Vanessa Nakate to Open Giving Black Conference 2026 With Climate Justice Keynote
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Canada Conrad Black is a Canadian-British writer, historian, and former newspaper publisher and financier, known for controlling Hollinger International, once the world's third-largest English-language newspaper empire. He has authored multiple biographies and continues to contribute columns to various publications.
Black made an agreement with Breeden, shortly after the unsigned status of the two non-compete agreements came to light, by which he would remain as chairman, but temporarily vacate the position of chief executive, pending verification that he, Black, had known nothing of these problems, which were handled by the company's counsel, and occurred in Radler's American Publishing division.
Most of his net worth came from his shareholding in Hollinger International, the publishing company that owned Black's most prized assets – the Daily Telegraph (UK), Chicago Sun-Times (US), The Jerusalem Post (Israel), National Post (Canada), and hundreds of community newspapers in North America. This refers to the holding company he controlled. Black was convicted of fraud related to diverting funds from Hollinger International.
Hollinger Inc. was Black's Canadian holding company, which he sold to David and Frederick Barclay, giving them effective control over Hollinger International.
Ravelston Corporation was a privately owned corporation owned by Conrad Black and David Radler, which was used to control their former newspaper empire.
Black and Breeden were in negotiations, sponsored by Henry A. Kissinger, who was a director of Hollinger, when the special committee, without warning, sued Black and others. Black counter-sued, and included a libel suit in Canada.
Conrad Moffat Black was born on August 25, 1944, in Montreal, Quebec, to a prominent family with significant holdings in Canadian manufacturing, retail, and media businesses. His father, George Montegu Black II, was the president of Canadian Breweries Limited. Black’s early education included Upper Canada College and Trinity College School, from which he was expelled for insubordinate behavior. He earned a law degree from Université Laval in 1970 and a Master of Arts degree in history from McGill University in 1973, where his thesis laid the groundwork for his first book on Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis.
Black’s career in business began while he was still in university, purchasing his first newspaper, the Eastern Townships Advertiser, in 1966. In 1971, he co-founded Sterling Newspapers Limited, a holding company that acquired various small Canadian regional newspapers. Following his father’s death in 1976, Conrad and his brother Montegu took control of Ravelston Corporation, which held a significant stake in Argus Corporation. Over the next decade, Black strategically divested non-media assets to focus on newspaper publishing, a move that would define his future endeavors. He gained control of the Telegraph Group in London, U.K., in 1986, marking his entry into British press ownership, and later acquired The Jerusalem Post.
By 1990, Black’s companies managed over 400 newspaper titles across North America, establishing one of the largest newspaper groups globally. Notable acquisitions included a stake in the Southam newspaper chain in 1992 and the Chicago Sun-Times in 1994. In 1998, he launched the National Post in Toronto, a newspaper designed to compete directly with The Globe and Mail. His ownership of Hollinger International, publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996, eventually led to legal challenges related to the sale of company assets and non-compete agreements, culminating in his conviction on fraud charges in the United States in 2007, which impacted his media empire and public standing.
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