Social scientific analyses concerned with autocratic rulers of states typically either assume that rulers pursue wealth and power to the virtual exclusion of all else, or else describe rulers' motivations in an entirely post hoc fashion. These perspectives can be improved upon. I predict that eccentricity and sexual indulgence—that is, the pursuit of desires other than power and wealth—on the part of autocratic rulers will be neither infrequent nor negligible. I predict that such behaviors are more likely to emerge when rulers inherit rather than win the throne, and that they are more likely to be reformed in the face of severe threats. These predictions are tested using four dynasties of autocratic rulers.
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