Dangerous Personalities summary

Do you remember the classic tale of Cinderella? Even if only foggily, you probably remember the evil stepsisters who forced poor Cinderella to do their bidding.

These stepsisters were memorable villains, but they’re also a great representation of narcissism, our first dangerous personality disorder.

Narcissists generally believe they’re above the law, exempt from society’s rules, and they’ll lie, cheat or even kill if it’s in their best interest.

Outside of fairytales, we can see the real-world dangers of narcissism in the 2001 Enron scandal, still the biggest US corporate bankruptcy to date.

Behind this corporate crime was Jeff Skilling and Kenneth Lay, Enron’s narcissistic CEOs, who were found guilty of conspiracy and fraud. Thinking only of themselves, these two continually lied to their 20,000 employees, encouraging them to invest any penny they had in Enron, resulting in thousands losing their life savings.

Records show this to be more than standard criminal behavior – these two believed they were entitled to every ill-gotten cent. This is also a sign of arrogance, another narcissistic trait that often results in highly elaborate and grandiose schemes.

Society often benefits from big ideas, but when they come from a narcissistic mind, there’s only one person who’s benefiting. We can see this difference by contrasting Walt Disney with cult leader Jim Jones.

Disney envisioned Disneyland as a “magical” place for families to have an amazing time. Jim Jones took every cent from his followers to create Jonestown, an isolated camp in the wilds of South America where people had no choice but to obey his every command.

Disney wanted to spread the joy; Jones wanted it all for himself.

This also points to two other narcissistic traits: superiority and lack of empathy, both exhibited by the notorious Bernie Madoff. This financier defrauded thousands by using money from new investors to pay off current clients who believed he was a sound businessman and a trustworthy friend.

But narcissists only see a friend as someone to be exploited for further gains.