The evilest person who committed the most horrendous deeds, propagated the worst ideas, or was responsible for other moustache-twirling affairs.
Anyone who is currently alive does not count.
Genghis Khan is up there. His conquests killed millions, I see estimates of up to 40 million, a significant percentage of the world’s population (possibly double-digits). It’s even theorized that so many people died that global temperature dropped as a result. You could go and argue that a large unified empire would prevent many future wars and thus could be a net positive even if establishing it is very bloody (see Pax Romana), and Genghis’ rule was reportedly relatively progressive compared to his contemporaries. But then, you need to make it so that the emprie doesn’t immediately break apart after its ruler dies, which he failed at.
Though you can always argue that he wasn’t really more evil than other rulers, just more successful. Which still makes him a “great villain”, but there are more directly evil deeds than conquest, such as genocide.
Also, let’s not put too fine a point on it, his famed virility - leading to potentially millions of people with traces of his DNA - was likely expressed (for the most part) through decades of rape in unheard of numbers.
Pol pot killed about 25% of Cambodias population and deserve a nomination.
Ea-nāṣir, merrily flogging low quality copper to unsuspecting punters. The rotter.
Invented CFCs like Freon, which caused the hole in the ozone layer, and then later went on to pioneer the use of lead in gasoline, which is estimated to have resulted in the cumulative loss of millions of IQ points from humanity during its use, not to mention lead-derived cancers and other illnesses.
Possibly the single greatest negative contribution to the environment and humanity.
Did the most damage… But I’m not sure he’s villainous. Just competently dangerous. Happy to be corrected but I thought tmjr was trying to improve the world. He just got massively unlucky… Multiple times.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure he invented freon use in refrigeration because he knew he fucked up with the lead in gasoline and wanted to do something good to outweight that.
The effects of lead poisoning were already very well known, 8 people died of lead poisoning at DuPont during the development and Midgely himself suffered the effects of lead poisoning after “proving” his compound was safe in a public demonstration.
He absolutely knew there would have been widescale negative health effects if they continued to push the product on the market. He also knew about widely available alternative “anti-knocking” agents they could have used but they were unable to be patented and so there was no profit.
He is absolutely a case of someone who simply did not care about the consequences of his work beyond what profit could be extracted.
CFCs are a slightly different issue because no one could have reasonably anticipate their effects on the atmosphere and he was long dead before those effects were starting to be felt.
I don’t believe he would have stopped developing them even if he did know however.
The universe got the last laugh however after he became entangled in self made contraption to help him after he developed polio, suffocating him.
He was just a feckless chemist, better to blame the DuPonts, GM, and other moneyed interests who have depended on such useful idiots and the corruptability of the US government since its earliest days.
Cain singlehandedly killed 25% of world’s human population.
And fucked his mother.
The motherfucker.
Belgian Congo/Jewish Holocaust is right up there. I wouldn’t say a specific person but innumerable people involved.
King Leopold and Hitler were THE authority, so ultimately they signed off on the death and suffering of millions of Congolese and Jews (and other minorities) respectively.
For the Congo: imagine a father staring at the severed hand and foot of his five year old daughter. That’s a photograph searchable online, and needs to be seen to understand the violence and dehumanism of colonialism.
For the holocaust: we have all seen at least one picture. But imagine a baby being smashed against a wall because it wouldn’t stop crying. Pretty women (maybe even underage girls) being raped. To say just a small part of the atrocities of the holocaust.
Well, I haven’t even included Unit 731. General Shiro Ishii.
Now, what to say about today in 2026? Who’s to say these atrocities are not being repeated?
Ottomans were quite vile as well. My grandmother grew up watching ottoman soldiers slicing open pregnant women’s bellies because they were Greek and laughing.
Billionaires.
