Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum) was a novelist and philosopher best known for developing the philosophical system called Objectivism and for her novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957). Born in the Russian Empire, she emigrated to the United States in 1926, where she wrote fiction and non-fiction advocating individualism, laissez-faire capitalism, and rational self-interest. Her work has had a lasting impact on literature, political thought, and popular culture.