Yet for all the stories of greed and egomania, Karajan was a master conductor.

NPR: Herbert von Karajan's Symphonic Obsessions

But egomania is one of the more powerful forces that have shaped world history.

FORBES: What the World Got Wrong About Lance Armstrong and Oscar Pistorius

Now of course, people like Armstrong and Pistorius and Michael Jordan may work hard as part of a more general egomania.

FORBES: What the World Got Wrong About Lance Armstrong and Oscar Pistorius