I keep reading profiles of middle-aged, financially successful yet --at varying degrees-- sociopathic men with dubious taste in everything & a penchant for ostentation, and they all seem to mention one thing: he said he loved Ayn Rand.

It makes me think of my early 20s and discussing the Fountainhead with my office-mate at the Economist, Phil Coggan. I told him I had loved the book and that it had made a huge impression. He told me to grow up and proceeded to eviscerate it in 5 minutes. And that was it.

And so, when I read about these grown men who all seem to have something off about them, I think to myself, "gosh I bet he's gonna tell the reporter he loves Ayn Rand."

And they do!