Canadian-born Conrad Moffat Black (born 1944) gained fame as an international press baron whose newspapers' daily circulation of 4.5 million was a total surpassed only by Rupert Murdoch and the US Gannett chain.

Born in 1944 to George Montegu Black, Jr. and Jean Elizabeth (Riley) Black, Conrad was named after his mother's father. His paternal grandfather, George Montegu Black, Sr., owned Western Breweries of Winnipeg. His father, George Montegu Black, Jr., ran Canadian Breweries (which had absorbed his father's firm) as a cornerstone of the famous Argus empire under E.P. Taylor. Black became the chairman and chief executive officer of Argus, as well as director of such famous companies as the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Confederation Life Insurance, and Eaton's of Canada--placing him at the center of Canadian business. Black was notorious for his outspokenly conservative views, while respected for his intellectual talents. He was born into the right...