Give me some well known personality in the history who uses machiavellism.?

Answer 1

By far the best example I use all the time in my lectures is Richard Nixon.

1. He felt that it didn't matter HOW a goal was accomplished so long as it WAS accomplished
2. He loved being feared and used fear as a method of intimidation all the time
3. His morality was questionable at best

Answer 2

Queen Catherine di Medici of France would be my choice. First of all, she was raised in the duchy of Florence, Italy by the very family who patronized Machiavelli, so she had direct access to his work, and since she was highly educated, she probably read it. Her behavior after the death of her husband King Henri II of France in 1560 makes me believe she read it!

She brutally manipulated all of her sons as they succeeded to the throne of France. One she emotionally abused to the point of madness, and the other she encouraged to be a homosexual because then she could control him. Lastly, for power abroad, she married her daughters into loveless alliances, and tried to marry her youngest son to English Queen Elizabeth I, a woman over 20 years her senior, to influence English politics

She was also behind the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve in 1572 of tens of thousands of Protestant Huguenots after they had been invited to the Capital (i.e., Paris) for her daughter Marguerite ("Queen Margot") to Henri De Bourbon, King Henri of Navarre. This began a religious civil war that wracked France for decades, and began the immigration of some brave souls to the New World (America).


This is the popular interpretation of Machiavellianism, and I feel Catherine di Medici fits the bill:

"Machiavellian as it is used today (or anti-Machiavellian as it was used from the Sixteenth Century) is ... a misnomer, as, it describes one who deceives and manipulates others for gain; whether the gain is personal or not is of no relevance, only that any actions taken are only important insofar as they affect the results. It fails to include some of the more moderating themes found in Machiavelli's works and the name is now associated with the extreme viewpoint." [1]


Although she was widely feared as the "Power Behind the Throne" for many years, some things that were believed of her were never proven, like the popular rumor that she was a poisoner, and had killed her brother-in-law so her husband could become King of France. It made her subjects more willing to do what she wanted, feeling their lives could be on the line. Her children, too.

Catherine di Medici is often cited as one of the worst mothers known in history. But only her children knew for certain.

Answer 3

These day Bill Gates is listed as an outstanding one, but I think he is trying to repair his image. Machiavelli wrote the "The Prince" on how to govern, which was ruthlessly. All you have to do is look back in history and see who was the cruelest and their name fits. Kings, Popes, Administrators, people in power. Power most often corrupts people. Who was it that said "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts completely?" Think Shakespeare and his plays.

Answer 4

Machiavelli himself

Answer 5

2pac