The Ego Has Landed Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gary Hart

Probably no event in the 1988 presidential campaign proved more memorable than the undoing of Democratic candidate Gary Hart. Amidst rumors of "womanizing," Hart responded by daring the press to "follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead.

They'll be very bored." The problem was that Hart was having extra-marital affairs and was rather poor at concealing them. The senator from Colorado then watched his chances for the Democratic nomination and the presidency evaporate when less than a week later "The Miami Herald" reported that Hart had spent the night with an attractive young model named Donna Rice in the Caribbean Island of Bimini on a yacht called the Monkey Business. Hart was photographed sitting on a dock wearing a "Monkey Business" T-shirt, with Rice sitting on his lap!

Answer: Donald Trump

First things first: Donald Trump filed for corporate bankruptcy four times, in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2009. All of these bankruptcies were connected to over-leveraged casino and hotel properties in Atlantic City, all of which later operated under the banner of Trump Enterprises Corp.

He has never filed for personal bankruptcy - an important distinction when considering his ability to emerge relatively unscathed, at least financially. Trump remains both personally wealthy and unrepentant about his seemmingly subpar management abilities.

Answer: Tony Hayward

Named the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, its source was a sea-floor oil gusher resulting from the April 20 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion which claimed 11 lives. The gushing wellhead was capped after 87 days, on 15 July 2010.

The total discharge is estimated at 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m3). The well was declared sealed on 19 September. Following the oil spill, there were rumors that Hayward would resign, but the company dismissed these.

A BBC report said that a BP press release stated that Hayward "has the full confidence of the Board of Directors of BP." Nonetheless BP announced on 27 July 2010 that Hayward would be replaced and his contract with the company terminated.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was Emperor of France in the early 19th century. He is considered to be one of the most brilliant military leaders in history. In 1804, after being declared "Consul for Life", Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France. With the confidence of this title, Napoleon began war efforts against nearly every major European power. A brilliant tactician, these efforts were extremely successful. By 1808 France ruled almost all of Europe. However, Napoleon's decision to invade Russia marked the turning point of his career. Napoleon then assembled the largest army Europe had ever seen. The Grande Armée, some 500,000 strong, including troops of all his vassal and allied states, and attacked Russia in June, 1812. The Russian troops fell back, systematically devastating the land. Napoleon entered Moscow with his tired, cold and hungry army only to find the city all but deserted and burning. With his troops decimated, his prospective winter quarters destroyed, his supply line overextended, and the Russian countryside and grain stores empty, Napoleon, began a retreat back to France. Stalked by hunger and Russian guerrillas, the Grande Armée, now only a tenth of its original strength limped back to France, losing further battles on the way. Ultimately, Napoleon was defeated and exiled after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Answer: Bernard Madoff

Bernard Madoff was born on April 29, 1938 in New York City. He used $5,000 earned from a lifeguarding job to found his investment company. Madoff's firm offered the proverbial "too good to be true" returns and his client list included celebrities, bankers, politicans and people from all walks of life. Madoff's own son reported him for securities fraud and Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts.

In 2009, the 71-year-old was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Once considered a philanthropist and financial genius, Madoff is remembered for running the largest securities fraud scheme in history.

Answer: John Gotti

John Gotti, the high-profile and sharp-dressing Mafia don who beat three criminal cases against him to earn the nickname "Teflon Don," died in a prison hospital in June of 2002 in Springfield, Missouri, while serving multiple life sentences. John Gotti rose to power by taking control of one of New York's largest crime families in 1985.

He orchestrated the public assassination of his boss and predecessor, Paul Castellano as the latter exited a car in front of Spark's Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan. Gotti loved attention dressed in expensive clothes and often posed for pictures in public. Gotti was ultimately brought down by his own carelessness and insatiable need to talk and boast. Between recorded confessions by Gotti and the testimony of his former associate Sammy Gravano, the "Teflon Don" was - as one law enforcement agent stated -turned to Velcro. Luchese and Anastasio were also one-time heads of New York crime syndicates.

Answer: Lance Armstrong

The cavalcade of high profile athletes to deny using performance enhancing drugs only to be proved liars and cheats is long and growing. Jones was stripped of medals from the 2000 Olympics, while Landis was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France titles. Palmeiro testified before Congress in 2005 that he had never used steroids but was suspended from Major League Baseball less than six months later for testing positive for the drugs.

However, none of these stories tops Armstrong. Armstrong miraculously survived testicular cancer and returned to the pro cycling tour to win an unprecedented seven straight Tour de France races in 1999-2005.

A hero to millions, Armstrong aggressively and often viciously defended his image from dogged allegations of drug use. Ultimately the evidence became too damning and in a series of high profile "confessions" the now disgraced Armstrong admitted that all of his wins were made using doping and drugs.

Answer: Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974, when in the wake of the Watergate scandal he became the only US president to resign the office. After the investigation into the illegal activites of the 1972 Nixon reelection campaign gained momentum, Nixon said in a televised press conference (November 17, 1973) "people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook." However some nine months later (August 9, 1973) Nixon resigned the Presidency in disgrace as impeachment loomed.

Answer: Saddam Hussein

Saddam was born the son of a shepherd in a village called al-Auja, outside of Tikrit in northern Iraq. From these humble beginnings Saddam Hussein rose to rule Iraq in 1979 starting a brutal regime that lasted 33 years. During the 1980s, Saddam used chemical weapons against Kurdish areas within Iraq, including the 1988 killing of 5,000 people in the town of Halabja.

In 1990, Saddam ordered Iraqi troops to take the country of Kuwait. In response, the United States and its allies liberated Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War. On March 19, 2003, the United States attacked Iraq. Hussein, ever confident, made many boastful comments at the start of the war.

When Baghdad fell to U.S-led forces on April 9, 2003 Saddam was nowhere to be found. That is, until December 13 2003 when he was captured in a hole by American forces at a farmhouse near Tikrit. Saddam Hussein was executed for crimes against humanity on December 30, 2006.

Answer: Ted Haggard

The list of religious leaders who built large followings only to fall from grace is immense and not limited to any one religion or issue. Mr. Falwell made virulent anti-gay comments including saying that "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." Bakker was convicted of fraud and admitted to adultery while running his hugely successful tele-ministry. Ted Haggard was the founder and successful pastor of the New Life Church based in Colorado.

At his height Haggard had a congregation of over 14,000 members and was nationally known and respected. Haggard openly supported anti-gay marriage legislation in Colorado and other states. Yet in 2006 he resigned all his positions after admitting to a relationship with a male prostitute. To his credit Haggard has tried to return to ministry with a more tolerant message.