Who is the worst person to ever live on this planet? Who is the evilest person to walk this Earth? The world has not been a wonderful place for people throughout history. There have been dictators and people that caused hundreds of thousands of fatalities. Some even caused millions of deaths. And some of the worst people in history, actually believed they did well for their people.
Throughout human history, we have witness wars, killings, riots, famines, genocides, and everything in between. But the real evil lies within the architects of these inhuman practices. Let’s take a look at some of the absolute worst people.
Genghis Khan
The Mongol ruler made Mongolia an empire and one of the biggest countries at the time. But what cost? By some accounts, the Mongol wars reduced the world’s population by 5%.
Taking into account that the population was 400 million in 1200AD that would account for 20 million dead. But Genghis only controlled about 3 million Mongols, meaning he killed 667% of his population. It is a world-beating number.
Fun fact: he was a nice guy at times. Genghis Khan adopted orphans in conquered territories, recruited the survivors in the conquered army, and promoted warriors based on ability. That inspired loyalty among his followers.
But he reduced the population of Persia by 90%. He made killing exponential.
Leopold II of Belgium
Did you know Congo was a Belgian colony? Leopold killed so many people in the Congo Free State, almost reducing the population by 50%.
The historical figure worried that his soldiers would use his ammunition to hunt animals instead of people. So, he required soldiers to bring back the right hands of the people they killed.
As a result, soldiers started trading amputated right hands from anyone they could find. Some even sold them in baskets because individual hands were worth so little.
In a way, Leopold set up an economy of killing. He promoted mass murder in the 19th century in the Congo Free State. He killed more than 10 million people there.
Joseph Stalin
For many people, when you mention the worst leader in history, they will tell you that is Joseph Stalin. Unlike some other most evil people in history, he killed his own men.
The dictator of the Soviet Union ruled the country from 1922 to his death in 1953. He reigned more than 30 years with terror and violence have rarely been seen before. His decisions in the country led to a famine that killed millions.
Under his rule, millions of women were raped and he contributed to the death of more than 20 million people. Ironically, he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 and 1948, but that is because he stopped the greatest evil in the 20th century, Nazism.
Unlike Hitler, who was delusional and tried to improve his country and bring it back to its glory, Stalin killed his own men. During his time, Gulag reached the height. There, he sent workers to work in labor camps under extremely harsh conditions.
Stalin also contributed to the Great Purges in 1937 and the collectivization movement that caused untold suffering in the Soviet Union.
Adolf Hitler
Unlike Stalin, Hitler at least got his country out of debt. The whole purpose of Hitler was to make Germany great again, following the repercussions his country had to suffer after defeat in World War I.
During World War II, Hitler was responsible for more than 60 million deaths. He used 20th-century techniques of mass production and chemistry to industrialize the killing.
Hitler came up with the theory of “master race”, a concept the Nazi party used to justify their killing. They focused it mostly on Jews and black people. But it was much wider than that. Basically, everything else other than white Germans.
His racism is second to none. To this day, we celebrate victory over Nazism and hope it never comes back again.
Heinrich Himmler
We cannot talk about Hitler without his right hand. Heinrich Himmler served as the head of the SS and was the brain behind the Final Solution to the Jewish question.
And what is the solution? Well, according to Nazis, the extermination of all Jews in Europe. Himmler personally ordered the killing of about 6 million Jews and many other groups in concentration camps. He and Nazi Germany found many other groups unworthy of living.
Some theories go as far as saying he had his furniture made from the bones and skins of Jewish victims.
Vlad the Impaler
Also known as Vlad Dracula. Fun fact: The character of Dracula was loosely based on Vlad. And it was all because of his sadistic personality and cruel acts. He did so much wrong to the people of Wallachia where he reigned as prince between 1448 and 1462.
During his reign, he killed more than 20% of the population. And the way he did it was cruel. He impaled the victim through the buttocks till the stake came out of the mouth.
Pol Pot
You cannot have a list of cruel people in human history without Pol Pot. He was responsible for the death of 2 million people in Cambodia, a country with an initial population of 5 million.
He mostly killed people in his own country. And he killed most of them directly. Pol Pot also caused the economy to crash and the irrigation systems to fail, resulting in a famine.
The good news is he wasn’t much of a leader and military strategist. When Vietnam showed up with an army, the neighboring country quickly conquered Cambodia.
Saddam Hussein
Saddam ruled Iraq from 1979 to 2003. Considered one of the worst dictators, he authorized countless attacks on people.
His genocide policies directly caused close to 2 million deaths. Hussein ordered chemical attacks, beatings, and severe shocks on people. But the worst part was recording tortures and deaths to watch them later.
The dictator was found guilty of crimes against humanity and hanged in 2006.
Idi Amin
Have you noticed a pattern on this list? Most of the worst people in history were dictators or autocratic leaders. Idi Amin, chief of Army Staff, took control of Uganda while President Obote was gone to Singapore to attend a meeting.
When Amin took control of the country, he promised to bring prosperity to Uganda. Just a week later, he declared himself President of the country. As dictator, many called him the Butcher of Uganda.
He killed people by feeding them to crocodiles. There were even claims that he was a cannibal and that he mutilated people.
He ruled the country from 1971 to 1979.
Osama bin Laden
The Saudi Arabian-born terrorist founded al-Qaeda, the organization that claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks on the US. He also was responsible for numerous mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets worldwide. He remains one of the most hated people in American history.
Osama tried to implement Baathism in Afghanistan, even if it meant killing people in mass executions. He also ordered airstrikes against those he didn’t like.
Yes, Afghanistan thrived under Osama, but he killed millions of people and ruined the image of Islam. He made Islam look like a terrorist religion, not a peaceful religion.
More and more Muslims around the world get bullied because of Osama bin Laden.
