BARBARA AMIEL, the wife of Conrad Black, first became aware of the gravity of the financial crisis in his newspaper empire after a flight to Palm Beach to inspect the progress on the rebuilding of their home.

Boarding their Gulfstream executive jet in New York with Henry Kissinger, the Blacks announced their plan to drop the former secretary of state in Washington and then fly on to Florida.

“There’s a snowstorm in Washington,” said the pilot. “We won’t be able to land.”

“I’ll take the train,” said Kissinger.

“How can Henry get to the station?” said Amiel.

“Quickest way is by helicopter,” advised the pilot.

Swivelling towards Black, Amiel snapped: “Why haven’t we got a helicopter, Conrad? The Kravises have one.”

Black’s smile froze: “We’re not rich like the Kravises.”

The Wall Street legend Henry Kravis and his wife, Marie-Josée, had long been the paradigm for Amiel’s drive for billionaire trappings — including the mansion she was rebuilding at Palm Beach. But financial reality was impinging there, too.

On arrival, Black tried to find out why the local contractors were proving more expensive than expected. His ambition to provide a palace for his princess was proving troublesome.

Sitting with friends, Amiel reflected on her lifestyle. “I don’t deserve these things,” she said. Her audience stared back. Was this the same woman, they wondered, who had once dispatched the Gulfstream from New York to get a handbag from Palm Beach? Black decided he temporarily could no longer afford the building project. He found a reason to argue with the accounts presented by the architect, Richard Sammons, and withheld payment.

It was late 1998. Black, proprietor of The Daily Telegraph in Britain, had just launched a new title in Canada, the National Post. This fed his own vanity rather than making business sense because there was a financial squeeze in Canada.

The Post’s advertising income was poor and its circulation was artificially inflated. Piles of unread Posts were cluttering Toronto’s subways and shopping malls. Black’s fate was precarious.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive