“It was the smile of a man who is able to see, to know and to create the glory of existence. It was the mocking, challenging smile of a brilliant intelligence.”

Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist and philosopher of the 20th century. She is best known for her novels *The Fountainhead* and *Atlas Shrugged*, which explore themes of individualism, capitalism, and rational egoism. Her ideas significantly influenced libertarian and objectivist thought.