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Conrad Black's hubris

• Robert Peston
• 13 Jul 07, 05:58 PM

Conrad Black was brought down because he behaved like the sole proprietor of his main business, the US company Holllinger, even though it was a listed company with lots of other shareholders.

One of these shareholders, an investment firm called Tweedy Browne, became increasingly concerned at what it perceived as the profligacy of Lord Black.

Lady Black gave Tweedy Browne a bit of a clue in 2002 when she told Vogue that her "extragavance knew no bounds" and that it was "always better to have two planes, because however well one plans ahead one always finds one is on the wrong continent."

Tweedy Browne feared that Lord Black was lining his own pocket with money that more properly belonged to all shareholders.

The US authorities concurred - and so too, today, has a Chicago jury.

Lord Black is famous for having the hide of an armadillo. But even he must be mortified. This friend of world leaders, a Bilderberg man, may be heading for jail.

Still, perhaps he can take a crumb of comfort from the symbolism of his conviction.

His trial is the last of a spate against company bosses who let their greed get the better of their sense of probity during the last great stock-market boom.

As financial markets soar once again, one big question is whether the current batch of corporate titans are less corruptible than their immediate predecessors.

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