An outspoken publisher with a flair for self-promotion, Sondhi Limthongkul has never shied away from the media spotlight.
In the 1990s, as his Manager Media Group (M Group) expanded beyond Thailand, Mr Sondhi became a fixture on the social circuit in Bangkok and Hong Kong.
He showered money on lavish launch parties and smooth talked his way into banking circles that financed his ambitious ideas, including the short-lived regional newspaper Asia Times, now available only online.
Then came the collapse of the Thai economy in 1997 and the humiliating crash of M Group. A painful restructuring ended in bankruptcy court, with total debts estimated at 20 billion baht ($3.9 billion) and hundreds of workers left out of pocket.
In recent years, Mr Sondhi, 48, has revived his media group. His flagship Thai-language newspaper has been joined by TV shows and satellite channels, an English-language newspaper and a popular website.
His current fame rests not on his media outlets but on his increasingly strident campaign to oust Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a former friend and business partner.
