THE SUCCESS SYNDROME:ITS VICTIMS SUFFER FROM THE THREE A'S: ALONENESS,ADVENTURE
SEEKING, AND ADULTERY

He's worth millions. He snaps his Midas fingers and people jump. He has
a trophy wife or mistresses. Or both. Yet just when he seems to have it
all, the castle comes crashing down and everything he touches turns to
garbage.

He's a victim of the success syndrome, says Steven Berglas, an instructor in
the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and founder of
the Executive Stress Clinic in Boston. These days the victim could be
Donald Trump, Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, or Marion Barry, to name a few.
In 1986 Berglas presented his theory in The Success Syndrome: Hitting
Bottom When You Reach the Top. The book was based on a study
originally conducted in 1978 at Duke University that found that three
quarters of males who succeeded-but didn't feel they earned their
success-abused alcohol. A number of studies since have confirmed the
results: If a person doesn't feel his actions awarded him success, he
often exhibits self-destructive behavior. Little did Berglas know that
before the decade was out, he'd have so many highly visible examples to
prove him right. "I've since found it's more a pattern of success than
any inherent character flaw in the individual prior to becoming successful."
Berglas says Americans define success basically as ranking and rewards:
an income of six figures or more; prominence in a corporation or
organization, and in the community.

"Pete Rose appears to be a classic victim," he says. "Rose beat [Ty]
Cobb's record and became the greatest baseball player alive. Going out on
the ball field-or continuing writing or building a business-you have a
chance to reprove competency. Rose lost that capacity when he stopped
playing ball. But gambling allows you the belief, I'm the greatest, / can
understand the game, therefore I can predict the future."

The victim risks money he doesn't have to stimulate his adrenaline,
Berglas adds. "Trump's art of the deal is just what Rose was doing:
gambling. So did Milken. You leverage yourself to the hilt, take chances,
and lose perspective." These men demonstrate the need for
adventure-including secret handshakes and codes for their deals.

They are solitary operators. Rose had a group sycophants, but never felt
he could trust people. Milken made people adore him from a distance; he
was a Pied Piper. He represents the adulterous aspects-without the need to
go to bed. Trump obviously goes to bed. Many of these men demonstrate
promiscuity," Berglas concludes.

After someone reaches the heights, his or her successes often become
passive ones. "All Milken had to do was sit back and watch his
investments make money. Trump said,'I'm so good, bankers come and ask me
if I want to borrow money.' When you've reached a certain level of
power, things come to you. You don't have to be good anymore." The
successful become subordinate to their success.

The syndrome can befall any successful person. Politicians are notorious,
says Berglas. "Gary Hart became so cocksure he even dared the press
to follow him. For Marion Barry, buying drugs became a thrill. These
things let you know you can beat the system: It's not what / am outside,
but inside."

Berglas's studies indicate that up to 20 percent of all successful men
fall victim to the syndrome. He predicts the percentage for children of
successful or wealthy parents is even greater. Success comes to them
because of their name and wealth.

Marriages and love relationships are important in preventing the
syndrome, Berglas says. "Second to that is an affiliation to a group-of
any stripe." Sam Walton, who believes wealth should benefit family,
workers, and the community, is someone who's escaped the success syndrome.

The success syndrome won't vanish. "Any young individual with an
affluent life-style who doesn't earn his success on his own efforts
will suffer," Berglas warns. "The syndrome is like AIDS; it's a virus, a
disease. Just because you practice safe sex doesn't mean it goes away;
there's just a little less of it."