His London flat near Hyde Park, featured in the Independent newspaper several years ago, has chandeliers in every room - even the kitchen - stained glass windows, Andy Warhol artworks and walls studded with photographs of his own career. Home in Geelong is an historic seafront house.
Beneath his shirt is his sculpted if podgy torso, courtesy of cosmetic surgery, revealed on national TV in Britain. "Basically it's the male version of a boob job," Lyons told one interviewer.
Now an entrepreneur who no longer takes pictures, Lyons is the archetypal local boy makes good - or bad, depending on your view of his previous profession.
"My dream was to be a millionaire by the time I was 30," he told the Weekly Review. "I've made plenty and lost plenty. My life's a roller-coaster whether I like it or not."
Lyons began as a photographer with the local Geelong News, moved to London at age 22, and worked for the now-defunct News of the World, and the Daily Mail before setting up his own freelance agency, Big Pictures, with former wife Melissa.
He made global headlines when Big Pictures sold intimate pictures of footballer David Beckham and his personal assistant Rebecca Loos, leading to a media frenzy.
His notoriety increased with his decision to keep photos showing the death of Princess Diana after the fatal paparazzi chase in Paris in 1997.
Lyons claims the Princess used the paparazzi for her own ends.
"The paparazzi was blamed for the death of Diana, whereas Diana was a catalyst for the paparazzi," he told the Weekly Review.
"She used me and many other people on many other occasions to create her global image."
Lyons has been wrapped in other controversies, appearing before the Leveson Inquiry into the British media that has seen some of its former elite dragged into court, and over the bankruptcy of Big Pictures and his later re-purchase of it.
Eyebrows have also been raised over his connections to strip-club operators. Lyons operates numerous businesses of his own, including night clubs.
