10 Most Famous Narcissists In History
Many significant leaders that we know today are narcissistic. Yes! This might come as a shock to you but many narcissists have made a significant and ever-lasting impact in the world. So let us know some of the most Famous Narcissists in History.
Defining Narcissism
NPD(Narcissistic Personality Disorder) or Narcissism portrays some common toxic traits in an intensified state than others. In psychological terms, narcissists who suffer from NPD(Narcissistic Personality Disorder) portray these emotions and traits in a greater magnitude than others. These emotions include a boosted sense of self-importance, inflated self-worth, and a constant need for admiration, adoration, and validation.
What is a Narcissist?
Narcissists are someone who is often characterized and peculiar regarding their trait of being self-absorbed. They hardly think about others. They always prioritize their own self and their needs above others. They have a high sense of self-importance, so much so that they might even ignore their own children or their own parents. They even tend to ignore their life partners too, in some cases. Thus it can be concluded, that narcissists only care for themselves, their needs and desires, and their wishes.
Characteristics of a Narcissist
Narcissists possess some traits or characteristics that make them a little hard to deal with. Some peculiar narcissistic traits include,
- Lack of sensitivity and empathy.
- Are self-centric.
- Blame others for your mistakes.
- Have unhealthy relations.
- Arrogance and anger is your first reaction to any problems.
- Hate changes and also cannot take them well.
- Are emotionally unstable and unavailable.
- Takes advantage of others easily.
- Are abusive.
- Lack of self-awareness and self-reflection.
- Always expect more from others.
- Boosted sense of self-importance.
- Obsession with image and reputation.
- Tendency to manipulate others mostly by gaslighting them.
- Preoccupation with fantasies of power, success, looks, and money.
According to DSM (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) is a reference book broadly used by psychology experts and mental health professionals worldwide. The DSM provides clear references describing mental disorders, their symptoms, and everything related to them.
DSM describes everything so clearly that it makes the diagnosis process transparent. Thus to determine whether someone is narcissistic, there is a list of symptoms mentioned in the DSM-5, out of which if the individual has any five or at least five or all symptoms then they can be termed under the category of narcisists.
Let us know the symptoms list,
- Having a self-perception of being perfect, intelligent, attractive, powerful, etc.
- Having the need to get constant attention from other people.
- To achieve personal gains and growth, exploit others.
- Being jealous and having a perception that others might be equally jealous of them.
- Having a sense of entitlement and expectations of being treated as someone superior or greater than others.
- Self-perception of being grandiose, unique, high-status, and superior to others.
- Unwillingness to have empathy and sympathy for others, their wishes, feelings, and emotions.
- Arrogance
These traits affect the lives of narcissistic individuals so evidently that they are unable to develop meaningful relationships with others. This means they have unhealthy relations with their partners, hardly make friends, cannot adjust with others, and have difficulty maintaining relations. Now let us know some of the most Famous Narcissists In History.
Note –
This article does not intend to blame or claim that the people mentioned below may be truly narcissistic personalities, these conclusions are assumption-based. These undertakings are not supposed to be explicit.
Most Famous Narcissists In History
Knowing some of the most famous narcissists in history can acknowledge us with the impact they have/had on the people around them,
Donald Trump
Donald Trump is an American Politician, who served his presidency tenure in the United States from 2017 and 2021. He is termed a textbook narcissist or a typical narcissist by many mental health experts. He is said to have almost all the traits that a narcissist might possess.
He only cares about his personal needs, dismissing the needs of his family members, he is thin-skinned when it comes to receiving criticism and is resistant to his own policies. He is seen promoting himself above the needs of the nation and sidetracking his responsibilities as the president of the United States during his tenure. He often had rage outbursts on Twitter feeds and showed no empathy for others.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian is a businesswoman, media personality, model, and also a narcissist. She is often seen promoting herself, her wealth, and her pompous publically, and thus this has brought her so much attention and made her famous. She is an internet sensation who posts about her lavish and grandiose lifestyle, her business, and her lavish life.
She is also often seen as a part of many controversies which brings her more attention and recognition from people. These can be termed as typical narcissistic behavior. She married a rapper and a producer who is also said to be a narcissist and their marriage is a typical sight of how two narcissists might behave when they are married.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was an American Entrepreneur, Businessman, and an investor. He was known as a business magnate. He was the co-founder, CEO, and chairman of Apple Inc. He was a magnet for seeking investments which made him a billionaire and brought him fame due to his charismatic and charming personality.
He was preoccupied with notions of him being the ultimate brilliance and his preoccupancy of self-worth. He was not considered a good leader as he lacked empathy and exploited his employees. He was arrogant, manipulative, controlling, and attention-hungry. All these traits help to justify the fact that he might be narcissistic.
Kim Jong Un
He has been a North Korean leader and politician since 2011. He is popular for being a brutal leader who is self-obsessed and has many false claims under his name. North Korean Citizens constantly fear him and worship him as their leader out of terror and fright.
He is unable to maintain healthy relationships with other leaders around the globe and constantly praises and attention from others. He is a dictator in the form of a narcissist.
Ted Bundy
He is an American serial killer and a psychopath who was convicted of killing more than thirty people, especially women. He is believed to have many narcissistic traits which include irresistible charm which helped him lure his victims, a distinguished manipulator, extremely self-centered, and someone who loved attention and limelight.
Though he was executed in 1989. he is believed to have killed more than thirty people in his short life span. He referred to him as Mr. Bundy and thought highly of himself. These traits clearly are enough to claim him as a narcissist.
Jim Jones
He was a cult leader and a preacher in the United States of America. He was able to influence more than nine hundred followers. He forced his followers to drink poison in the name of spirituality and those who declined his offer were murdered by his officials.
He planned a “revolutionary suicide” which was a mass suicide in the remote jungle commune named after him called Jonestown. This clearly states how effective he might have been in encouraging people to take such toxic steps of committing suicide under his influence.
Madonna
Madonna is referred to as the “Queen of Pop” in the music industry. She is an American singer, actress, and songwriter. She is also one of the most famous and highlighted narcissists in the entertainment industry as she herself highlights the fact that she is attention-hungry and craves the limelight.
She is known for her exploitative behavior towards her employees and staff members by making unreasonable and unfair demands. She is known for abusing her employees by making them work for unreasonably long hours and has no empathy for them.
Adolf Hitler
He was a German politician and a dictator. He gained his power by becoming the leader of the Nazi Party and initiated the World War II. He is believed to be one of the most inhuman leaders in world history. He is the perfect example of a narcissistic leader who can destroy the world. he slaughtered innocent people to establish white Germans as the superior race.
He is known as one of the worst leaders around the world, who showed no empathy with his victims. He lied and spread rumors about other races. He qualifies as one of the worst narcissistic leaders.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French Military Commander and Political leader who rose to power during the French Revolution. He was one of the greatest military commanders and also one of the most controversial leaders in history.
He used to act aggressively to compensate for his feelings of low self-esteem and inferiority. He was a narcissistic tyrant, who believed that he was special. Thus these qualities make him even more competent for being a narcissistic leader.
Alexander the Great
He was the king of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. He had created one of the largest empires in history, by being undefeated and having the most successful army commanders. However, there were no books or scriptures that could prove that he was a narcissistic king at the time of his reign around 336 BC.
Yet he was claimed to be a cruel king as he had fought many battles for his personal glory and conquests and never ever showed any sympathy and empathy for the loss of his army. This did not stop him from getting into more battles and executing many of his men. He only focused on his grandiose self-image as a king.
Final Thoughts
Being narcissistic can also be positive and productive in some ways and thus the world had/has some of the greatest leaders who might have brought unbelievably huge changes in the world. Regardless of their good works, their presence brought chaos to people around them, thus making them cruel and barbaric.
We hope that these narcissistic people discussed in the article have helped to understand the narcissistic characteristics and the harmful effects of narcissism not only the individual but everyone around them. These people might not have been necessarily evil but somehow they all display some or the other related traits to narcissism which are harmful to them and everyone around.
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From Relationship, Depression, and Personality Disorder to Narcissistic problems, I have helped a lot of people find their solutions. Upon gathering a number of common problems that people face, I decided to put the information on this blog so that anyone can get their answers easily.
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