I know both types of people, nice rich guys and what you would call "assholes". However, I'm qualifying "assholes" because the few I know are actually very, ve

I know both types of people, nice rich guys and what you would call "assholes". However, I'm qualifying "assholes" because the few I know are actually very, very charming... but are in fact sociopaths/exibit some sociopathic traits, like being extremely artful manipulators, using half truths and lies, etc. Examples: the CEO of a multinational company. As an example of his behaviour, much like Scott Thompson, he lies about his degree. He also skims off the company profits. I also know of a few enterpreneurs that are really nice if you meet them , but work their employees to death and then cheat them out of profits (I think it has been discussed to death here on HN) Just a few examples: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-ceo-not-alone-7-execs-busted-resume-160624891.html http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-ceo-not-alone-7-execs-busted-res... http://news.yahoo.com/zynga-greedy-game-industry-scum-steals-employees-help-194233677.html http://news.yahoo.com/zynga-greedy-game-industry-scum-steals... BTW I agree with rdl, I believe sociopaths will be more common in large, established companies, than in startups. If you work in such dysfunctional environments (for example certain financial industry companies, or governments), yes, you'll end up believing that to be succesful it's required to be an "asshole".