Shmuel "Sam" Vaknin (Hebrew: שמואל "סם" ואקנין, born April 21, 1961) is an Israeli writer. He is the author of Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisited (1999), was the last editor-in-chief of the now-defunct political news website Global Politician, and runs a private website about narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). He was a financial advisor for several nation states; he has also postulated a theory on chronons and time asymmetry.
Life Born in Kiryat Yam, Israel, Vaknin was the eldest of five children born to Sephardi Jewish immigrants. His mother was from Turkey, and his father, a construction worker, was from Morocco. He describes a difficult, violent childhood, stating in an interview that his parents "were ill-equipped to deal with normal children, let alone the gifted". Vaknin believes that abuse and trauma from this time triggered his NPD. Vaknin was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces when he was 17. Between 1982 and 1983, Vaknin studied for a doctorate at Pacific Western University (California). His PhD dissertation was entitled "Time Asymmetry Revisited". In it, Vaknin postulated the existence of a particle (chronon). Vaknin's work has been expanded into the Geometric Chronon Field Theory by independent researcher Eytan H. Suchard. By the mid 1980s, Vaknin was living in London, and was successful financially, but aware of difficulties in his relationship with his first wife, including severe mood swings. He sought help from a psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Vaknin did not accept the diagnosis. As he later reflected: "I had no idea what he was talking about," he says. "I tried to corrupt him, I offered him money, and having felt that I succeeded, I lost all interest in him." Vaknin moved back to Israel, where he became director of the investment firm, Mikbatz Teshua. In 1995, Vaknin and two other men were convicted of three counts of securities fraud for deceiving customers and thereafter engaging in stock manipulation. He was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and fined 50,000 shekels (about $14,000), and the company was fined 100,000 shekels. As a condition of parole, he agreed to another mental health evaluation, which noted various personality disorders. According to Vaknin, "I was borderline, schizoid, but the most dominant was NPD." On this occasion he accepted the diagnosis, because, he wrote, "it was a relief to know what I had." As he reflected on the failure of his marriage, his estrangement from his family, his financial difficulties, and the ruin of his reputation, he initially blamed others for his difficulties but with time he realized that he was at fault. While in prison, he began to write his book "Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited". After serving 11 months, Vaknin was released in 1996, and moved to Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, now North Macedonia. He began to educate and engage with thousands of narcissists and their victims in internet discussion forums, videos, ebooks and his own website. In September 2025, his Youtube channel had 419,000 subscribers. His views have been solicited by the media. He is credited with greatly raising public awareness of NPD. He met Macedonian Lidija Rangelovska, and together they set up Narcissus Publications in 1997, which publishes Vaknin's work. His book, Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited was published by the press in 1999. After five years together, the couple married. Vaknin has appeared in many documentary films about narcissism and NPD. In 2007, he appeared in the episode "Egomania" of the British Channel 4 documentary series Mania. In 2009, he was the subject of the Australian documentary, I, Psychopath, directed by Ian Walker. In the film, Vaknin underwent a psychological evaluation in which he met the criteria for psychopathy according to the Hare Psychopathy Checklist. He is filmed bullying and seeking to manipulate Walker, while showing detailed insight into both his actions and its negative emotional impact on the director. In 2013, he was interviewed in "Moi, narcissique et cruel" produced by RTS in Switzerland. In 2016, he appeared in the documentary How Narcissists Took Over the World produced by Vice Media. From 1998 and 2001, Vaknin wrote for the Central Europe Review about Balkans-related issues. Between 2001 and 2003, he was a senior business correspondent for United Press International. He has also written for the Middle East Times. From 1999 to 2001, Vaknin was the general manager of Capital Markets Institute, a company that advised Russian and Macedonian governments. He served an advisor and mentor to Macedonian Minister of Finance and later prime minister, Nikola Gruevski. They co-authored the book "Macedonian Economy on a Crossroads". Vaknin has written regularly for other publications, including from 2006 to 2013 for the online American Chronicle. Vaknin taught at Southern Federal University in Rostov Oblast, Russia between 2017 and 2022, giving three lectures there on personality theory in psychology. In 2024, he was appointed a visiting professor to the South East European University in Tetovo, North Macedonia. He also teaches courses in business studies and psychology at the Commonwealth Institute for Advanced Professional Studies (CIAPS).
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