It takes a lot to be a corporate CEO, knowing that each decision you make can affect thousands of people and the economies of dozens of nations. It means emotionally distancing yourself from the lives you potentially ruin and taking advantage of other people's misfortune, all while stating with a straight face that you have their best interest at heart.
Luckily there already is a name for it: psychopathy.
Some experts say a staggering number of corporate heads suffer from this condition, or more realistically, enjoy every damn second of it.
Getty"Johnson, get me that report by 5 or I'll kill you! Seriously, I will."
That was the findings of author Ron Jonson, in his book "The Psychopath Test." He put the ratio of psychopaths among CEOs four times higher than among the general population. He wasn't the first to notice it either (see: every office worker ever). As early as 2004, Professor Robert Hare -- an expert on psychopaths and author of the Psychopathy Checklist -- warned that the psychopaths' manipulative nature and superficial charm made it very easy for them to reach high-power corporate positions. It's actually been suggested that business powerhouse Henry Ford was a psychopath (who not only famously spread conspiracy theories about the Jews, but also spied on his employees and forced the secretary he was banging to marry his chauffeur as a cover up).
Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, at the 1929 annual Gigantic Asshole's conference.
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