In today’s society, we often categorize wealthy people, and in particular, CEOs, as those with lifelong happiness and freedom to enjoy life’s pleasures. Yet, recent studies have shown contradictory findings. Not only has it been more apparent that wealthy people are participating in narcissistic and self-benefiting behavior, it has had an effect on our economy. A recent example of the effects of narcissism is the so-called “reign” of Dick Fuld, former CEO of Lehman Brothers. Because of Dick Fuld’s narcissistic tendencies, we were placed in the worst economic state since the Great Depression. In order to fully understand the reasoning behind Dick Fuld’s narcissism, we must first examine the collapse of Lehman Brothers. In 1850, two brothers…show more content… When a person is placed in a situation that they are expected to fail, constructive narcissism can be beneficial in order respond appropriately and succeed. As Professor Mark Stein of the University of Leicester discussed, many CEOs in large corporations are constructive narcissists to a certain degree due to their unwavering determination to prosper (283). On the other hand, reactive narcissism typically occurs when a situation becomes stressful or dangerous. Reactive narcissism causes a person to react in a harmful manner, determined to “naturalize or destroy their creative potential” (qtd. in Stein 283). Reactive narcissists are convinced that everyone is trying to deceive his/her, and as a result, reactive narcissists tend to belittle others (Stein 283). Not only are reactive narcissists a bane existence in a company, they also tend to ultimately destroy to company as a…show more content… When predications of a market crash were highly expected, Fuld’s narcissism became reactive instead of constructive. Fuld fired any employees or executives who disagree or even questioned his purchasing of subprime mortgages in the dangerous time (Stein 289). Moreover, many other companies, who attempted to explain the severity of the coming market crash, approached him, but Fuld disregarded the advice -reactive narcissists believe that they are all knowing and therefore, do not need advice of others (Stein 286). Instead of helping his company by listening to others, Fuld was convinced that he could recover from the effects of the market crash. Because of Fuld’s reactive narcissism, he not only destroyed his once thriving company, but the caused the economy to fall
