Anyone who tangled with Kerry Packer - regarded by many as a billionaire bully - usually emerged feeling as if they had been dragged through a hedge.
The media baron's unparalleled power and influence, and his routine threats of legal action, ensured his fiercely guarded private life remained just that. Now, nearly two years after his death, the scandalous details are beginning to emerge.
New disclosures in the latest edition of The Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer, a biography of Australia's richest man, tell of his 'love' for prostitutes and how he provided call girls for politicians and businessmen.
The book also reveals Packer had a string of mistresses, one of whom committed suicide after he pulled the plug on her lavish lifestyle.
Carol Lopes was a stunning black American fashion model who had a four-year affair with the tycoon and then ran private bordellos at his behest in Sydney's exclusive Palm Beach. She sourced beautiful and intelligent women in New York, London and Brazil, who were paid A$10,000 (HK$68,000) to stay for a week in the luxury rented homes, and extra if they were 'used'.
According to the book, Carol told friends the service was 'to thank men who had done him a good turn, to pay them back'.