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1%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=1zv13hbn
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11[[quoteright:331:[[Webcomic/{{Sinfest}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gobsofmoney1.jpg]]]]
12[[caption-width-right:331:But is he happy?]]
13
14->''"Kings do not have friends -- only subjects and enemies."''
15-->-- '''Proverb of long-lived miserable kings'''
16%%
17%% A single quote suffices on Main, please use the Quotes tab.
18
19A character is driven to become the best there is -- the richest man in town, the best martial artist in the world, the emperor of the galaxy... and succeeds.
20
21But, along the way, the character winds up abandoning or betraying everyone and everything that character ever valued. These sorts of characters will inevitably wind up bitter and alone, having fulfilled their great obsession, but pondering everything they lost in the pursuit -- just before losing the thing they obsessed over too. ("If only I'd never left the family farm/talked to that man/become a model/signed that contract/etc.")
22
23This is often a form of reversed WishFulfillment for the viewer, as average people want to be able to think that the things they don't have (such as an abnormal amount of money, power, skill, or beauty) won't lead to happiness, conveniently forgetting how, in real life, there are plenty of poor, enslaved, stupid and ugly people that ''are'' unhappy. But since not everyone wants the same things out of life, the [[AnAesop Aesop]] doesn't always work that way.
24
25A variant is for a character to achieve immortality, i.e. WhoWantsToLiveForever, and/or ultimate power i.e. GodForADay, and become suicidally bored over how meaningless everything is when it's so easy.
26
27This phrase originates from the Chinese proverb "高處不勝寒/高处不胜寒"[[labelnote:Note]]Traditional and simplified Chinese respectively.[[/labelnote]], which literally means "the top (of a mountain) cannot defeat the cold". It is commonly used to describe people of high positions may feel lonely at the top. Though that is not all to this proverb, it also means that individuals of high positions gradually become suspicious of those around him/her, thus feeling shivers running up and down their spine constantly. A similar proverb, ''huipulla tuulee'', "it's windy at the (mountain) top", exists in Finnish, implying being on the top is both lonely ''and'' precarious.
28
29DyingAlone is often threatened, though if they learn AnAesop it may be averted. A common component of a PyrrhicVictory.
30
31Often ends in a form of KarmicTwistEnding.
32
33The natural conclusion of AmbitionIsEvil and BeingEvilSucks. May overlap with EverythingButTheGirl. Contrast CelebrityIsOverrated, InWithTheInCrowd, and TheLastDJ. Characters who are MarriedToTheJob are especially at risk of having this happen to them. If the character merely gets a whole load of mental problems from trying too hard, he'll become a BrokenAce. Contrast with VolatileSecondTierPosition.
34
35May overlap with EtTuBrute, VictoryIsBoring, IJustWantToHaveFriends, GodForADay, WantingIsBetterThanHaving, ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest, NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction, and AndThenWhat.
36
37----
38!!Examples:
39
40[[foldercontrol]]
41
42[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
43* Coyote Starrk from [[QuirkyMinibossSquad the Espada]] in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. All of the ten Espada represent an aspect of death; his is 'Loneliness' because his enormous powers [[spoiler: tended to drain the life out of any other Hollows who came near him and resulted in all of them avoiding him like the plague.]] He eventually split his soul into two separate beings just to have someone he could hang out with: the other part became his Fracción, [[LittleMissBadass Lilynette]] [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Gingerback]].
44** In Chapter 422, Ichigo claims that Aizen was lonely at the top all along. When he and Aizen fought, the only thing he could sense from Aizen's Zanpakuto was "solitude", which is supported by the databooks. He believes that the Hogyouku, rather than rejecting Aizen as a master, had finally granted Aizen's ''true'' wish: to be a "normal" Shinigami. Why it felt the way to do this was to give him more and more power until the very last second when it takes that power back is anyone's guess. The claim also tends to lose some impact given his previous and subsequent arrogance, and the fact that all of his actions were explicitly in the interest of [[spoiler:becoming a god.]]
45** Both Unohana and Kenpachi were revealed to be this before they first met. They were both killing criminals, desperately trying to find a WorthyOpponent. When they found each other, they both felt the rush and fear of battle. In fact, this was what caused Kenpachi to become a BloodKnight. However, even as a child, he was stronger than Unohana, and his fear of being unable to experience that rush again caused him to subconsciously limit his power, along with consciously limiting it with his eyepatch. Causing him to do this is what Unohana, even to this day, considers her greatest sin and regret.
46* Subverted in ''Manga/DeathNote'', where [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]] is shown to betray anyone and everyone in order to get to the top and become the god of the new world. One would expect that in the end, everyone is shown realizing this and turning against him -- however, it is shown [[spoiler: that even years after his death, there are still many worshipers who greatly mourn his death]]. It's implied that successfully [[spoiler: killing L]] has left Light bored and depressed, because [[spoiler: good ol' L]] was the only person as smart as Light (and thus one of the few people he could relate to on any level). [[spoiler: The sheer joy he expresses when he thinks he's found a replacement for L, and the rage he expresses when the new L doesn't live up to his expectations add to this interpretation.]]
47* Implied to be the case for Erina Nakiri in ''Manga/FoodWars''. She's the best chef in her school, comes from a rich family, and has everything she could want, but has almost nobody to share all of that. Says a lot that she gets extremely bored and prone to moodiness when her assistant/best friend Hisako isn't around.
48* Hotohori from ''Manga/FushigiYuugi''. And he felt like a bird in a golden cage.
49* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': Prussia's rant about being happy by himself during the [[ChristmasEpisode Christmas Special]] is often interpreted as this.
50* A running theme in ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen''. The most powerful sorcerers alive can stomp all over the common man and sorcerers of inferior power and skill; but none of that means anything if they're so detached from society to relate to someone else as an equal. Satoru Gojo is his era's greatest sorcerer, but he has an ego a mile wide that makes most people tolerate him at best and he likens his relationships with others as a human among flowers. The one person he ''did'' consider an equal, his best friend Geto Suguru, [[spoiler:eventually turned to the side of evil and was killed by Gojo himself]]. The incarnated sorcerer Kashimo was always picking fights in his era and won them, but he longed for a real challenge. [[spoiler:Even Ryoumen Sukuna gets in on this; as the King of Curses and ''the'' most potent sorcerer of the Heian era, he proudly boasts that he can do whatever he likes, however he likes, and no one can stop him--but after multiple people start challenging his worldview in the Culling Games, he actually starts to doubt himself.]]
51* In ''Anime/{{K}}'', the Kings tend to lead very lonely existences due to their immense power and the fact that no one besides other kings can truly understand them. The Silver King muses on this at the end of the first season. He probably lives this trope more than any of the rest -- he lived alone in a blimp for 70 years because of his power. [[spoiler: But after the Slate is destroyed, he gets to live as a normal person with his new family.]] This trope is a big part of why they're [[spoiler: okay with losing their powers]] -- that and the constant threat of SuperPowerMeltdown.
52* In ''Anime/{{Kaiba}}'', Popo sets out to conquer the universe with the express motivation of providing a better life for his friends and family. [[spoiler:By the time he reaches his goal, he's {{Brainwashed}} or alienated all of his friends, and his mother dies due to his carelessness, rendering the entire scheme AllForNothing.]]
53* ''Anime/KillLaKill'' has this happen to Ryuko, except in this case she helps her friend Mako's family (who she lives with) become successful by making Mako a club president, using Honnouji Academy's bizarre system that dictates a student's social status based on their academic performance. Once Mako nets them their own mansion, the family becomes so addicted to their new lifestyle that they stop having the warm, lively dinners Ryuko enjoyed sharing with them when they were poor.
54* [[TheAce Aomine]] in ''Manga/KurokosBasketball''. He loved basketball and worked hard at it, but as he got better, his opponents stopped posing any challenge and began to practically give up before they could even play. No one can pose a challenge, so the sport he once loved [[VictoryIsBoring becomes boring.]]
55* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': [[FieryRedhead Asuka]] was the [[AcePilot best pilot in the series]]... but [[BrokenAce she also felt extremely lonely]].
56** In ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'', she is frustrated by this, changing the reason for her frequent lashing out and condescending attitude from the [[spoiler:trauma of seeing her mother turn insane and finding her dead body after suicide]] in the original series.
57* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
58** An omake did this when it imagined the Straw Hats as mobsters. They each end up killing each other (except for Nami, who dies of happiness after seeing so much gold) until the only one left is Luffy, who at first is ecstatic over having all the meat to himself...until he realizes how lonely he is without anyone to share it with.
59** In the series proper, there is the World's Strongest Swordsman, Mihawk. His expression is always stern and he rarely ever acts unless it's out of some form of curiosity. Being the best swordsman in the world has obviously left him with not much to do while waiting for a half-decent challenger. And he is so far above the next best swordsman that really digs at him. It's been shown that the last worthy challenger he had was over a decade ago in-universe. The challenger was Shanks, back when he had two arms. When Shanks lost his arm saving a younger Luffy from a Sea King, he was no longer a strong enough opponent for Hawk-Eyes. Later, when Zoro tries to fight Mihawk, he's effortlessly defeated... yet Mihawk saw potential in him, and is now hoping someday Zoro will be able to meet him at the top and give him his first true challenge in over a decade.
60* In ''Manga/OshiNoKo'', Ai Hoshino's troubled home life as a child made her decide to become an IdolSinger in the hopes of obtaining love. Unfortunately, despite her meteoric rise to fame, she doesn't have any real friends and isn't even particularly close with the other members of her idol group B-Komachi.
61* ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'': Surprisingly enough, [[spoiler:Garterbelt. In his past life as a gangster, he eventually [[KlingonPromotion became strong enough to become the mayor of his city]], but he quickly grew bored of it. So bored that, when a mob came to kill him, he didn't resist.]]
62* The Emperor in ''Anime/{{Photon}}'' has been the sole and absolute ruler of the galaxy for a few thousand years, and it became so boring that he allowed one of his subordinates to hatch a plan to achieve ultimate power and depose him, just so he'd have someone powerful to fight at the end.
63* In one chapter of ''Manga/SgtFrog'', a missive from headquarters results in Private Tamama (temporarily) becoming the new leader of the squad. He promptly [[TyrantTakesTheHelm goes mad with power]], and ends up throwing the Hinatas, Moa, and all his squad mates in the brig. While the others manage to make themselves comfortable, Tamama ends up bitter and alone.
64* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', Kishou Arima is the greatest Ghoul Investigator alive and shown to be extremely lonely even with an inner circle of subordinates. Often compared to a literal PhysicalGod or an untouchable genius, he has great difficulty relating to other people and finds his existence to be empty. [[AmnesiacHero Haise]] does quite a bit to ease his loneliness, acting as a surrogate family and actively dragging Arima into social situations.
65* At the start of ''Anime/YuriOnIce'', Viktor Nikiforov is the undisputed god of men's singles skating, with a closet full of gold medals and throngs of fans all over the world. He's also isolated, lonely, and aimless, due to spending all his time and energy on competitive skating, to the point that he ditches his whole career to pursue a connection with Yuuri. Yuuri Katsuki and Yuri Plisetsky are lesser examples, both top skaters whose prowess came at the cost of friendships, familial bonds, and dating.
66[[/folder]]
67
68[[folder:Comic Books]]
69* The title character in ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark''. He is told to his face, by someone in a position to know [[spoiler:(albeit someone later revealed to also be far from objective),]] that he will "[[DyingAlone die alone]], unmourned and unloved" about a third of the way through.
70* This trope summarizes the plotline of ''ComicBook/ExMachina'' rather succinctly at least the abandonment of everything in pursuit of the dream [[spoiler: although he [[VicePresidentWho never does make it to the top]].]]
71* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': Brainiac 5 is the most intelligent person in history. His childhood was spent in the care of robots because his society rejected him as an aberration, and many of his teammates are hostile because he isn't sociable or nice. Cause you learn to be sociable and nice when you have no contact with living beings and are punished for displays of emotion for the first twelve years of your life.
72* Scrooge [=McDuck=] near the end of Creator/DonRosa's ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'', when he is an embittered old man estranged from his family. This is actually a recurring issue throughout ''Life and Times'' where Scrooge's victories are at best bittersweet because while he triumphs, he's also inevitably left without anyone to enjoy his victories with. Best shown in Chapter 4, where his friends immediately turn on him out of envy once he strikes it rich; Chapter 8, where he finally makes his fortune but loses the love of his life; Chapter 9, where he becomes a StrangerInAFamiliarLand because his travels have changed him too much; and Chapter 11, where for the first and only time he seeks to make money dishonestly, which ultimately costs him his family. Although he later/in other books somewhat subverts it or simply just ignores it: The book itself ends with Scrooge reconnecting with his family and rekindling his lust for adventure as well as being reminded of his past skills as a self-made duck. In later works, his family is never really bothered by his wealth, he is always finding more adventures and they usually follow. Due to this attitude and/or his extreme miserliness, he also lives no better than they themselves and will happily attend family gatherings, go camping or fight with his nephew rather than dine in fine restaurants, sleep in high-class hotels or send some bodyguard. He might be at the top, but he doesn't show it.
73* In the short story in ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyMicroSeries'' Issue #3 Hayseed Turnip becomes a rich man, but he's still alone and unhappy.
74* In ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' story "The Finance Smurf", the title character becomes the richest Smurf in the world near the end of the story when all the Smurfs leave behind the village along with all their money...but now with nobody to share his good fortune with, he instantly becomes sad and lonely.
75* Obelix finds this out the hard way in Recap/ObelixAndCo.
76* Marvel's ComicBook/{{Thanos}} attempts to impress Lady Death by collecting the six Infinity Gems, and with them becoming her equal so she will finally speak to him. However, after he succeeds she still remains silent, one of her servants explaining that by becoming all-powerful he is now her superior.
77* In the comic ''Timespirits'', a space pirate has the Curse of Success -- she succeeds at everything she tries, gets everything she wants. And she gladly gets the curse removed because, as she puts it, "I am so incredibly ''bored''!"
78* [[spoiler: Ozymandias]] in ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', hidden under dense layers of ego and posing for the eyes of history. The reveal is his insecure last exchange with Dr. Manhattan, who gives him no comforting words or reassurance as he was hoping.
79[[/folder]]
80
81[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
82* ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'':
83** One of Shinji's deep fears.
84--->''[[spoiler:...for what he wanted most was a friend, not a slave.]]''
85** Mentioned by Asuka several times. In chapter 22 she quotes the trope word by word. And in chapter 37 she says that being at the top feels cold and lonely.
86** It is mentioned in chapter 33 that both Shinji and Gendo feel like this.
87* The Hunter realizes he is this after hanging around the four for several days in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached''.
88* Light/Kira in the ''Manga/DeathNote'' fic ''Fanfic/ACureForLove'' [[spoiler: GodEmperor of Mankind and most miserable he's ever been in his life]]. Mello and Near imagine Kira sitting on his throne having a [[AGodAmI grand old time being worshipped.]] [[spoiler: More like snorting coke, killing the staff, and missing L]].
89* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction sometimes likes playing with this trope in relation to Luna and Celestia.
90** In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/154597/at-the-top At the Top]]'', Twilight comes to Princess Celestia and wants to know if it is lonely at the top. Celestia notes that it isn't lonely at the top anymore, with Luna, Cadance, and Twilight around. [[spoiler: It ends with Celestia revealing that it is a lie; it is very lonely at the top, a fact Twilight is soon going to find out, as she has long since surpassed everypony else in Equestria.]]
91** In the [[Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse Lunaverse]] story ''Carrot Top Season'', Carrot Top diagnoses the Apple Trust as suffering from this.
92---> None of the Trust teams had any friends of supporters come with didn't you notice? I don't think Applejack's the only Trust farmer who's completely isolated on her farm. I'd rather have my friends than a pile of bits and nopony to care about me.
93** ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'': In one of the many alternate universes glimpsed in the Well of Truth, Trixie has become Empress of Equestria. She is known as a benevolent ruler, but she eventually bursts into tears because everypony sucks up to her and blindly agrees with everything she says instead of really trying to be her friend. It doesn't help that she got this way by [[DealWithTheDevil making a deal with Ispita, the Spirit of Temptation]] and she knows it's all her fault.
94* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheNatural20'', Milo looks into the Mirror of Erised and sees himself as having achieved his dream of being the ultimate mage. He then realizes if this were to happen, everything would be meaningless and he would have no real relationships.
95* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11966640/1/Dying-Alone Dying Alone]]'' takes place a year after the end of ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay,'' going in-depth about [[TheChainsOfCommand his responsibilities as king]] and the fact that half of the kingdom still protests his rule and despises him in general. This coupled with the fact that [[spoiler:it's the anniversary of [[TheLostLenore Berri's]] death]] leaves him [[DespairEventHorizon suicidally depressed]] since, whether he kills himself or lives to be a hundred, [[spoiler:he's [[TitleDrop dying alone]]]].
96* Both leaders of the Apex end up like this in ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail''. So what if they're the Apex? So what if they have those high numbers and kids worshipping them? At the end of the Fog Car, [[spoiler:Grace realizes that she has done horrific things in the pursuit of some "glow-in-the-dark tattoos and when she reveals the truth, the Apex split up from her and never want to see her again. Simon becomes Destruction but he ends up dying alone by drowning in Toluca Lake, his soul to be reincarnated into a denizen for centuries and his body dumped in an Elementary school bathroom and the police labeling him as someone who went missing for years after disappearing from a Spelling Bee. Both of them ended up in a lonely world of their own making with no one to love or mourn for them.]]
97* ''Fanfic/TheSilverRaven'': Despite Nero being the most powerful witch of his generation, the son of the leader of the Emperor's Coven, and an incredibly popular student at Hexside, he doesn't have any friends to speak of barring Edric and Emira. This is largely because of his hate for how many of the students treat him less as a person and more as a meal ticket to easy popularity or as a way to potentially get into the strongest coven on the isles.
98* ''Fanfic/StuporHeroics'': Lynn's superhero career has given her tons of fame, money, and power, but she lacks any meaningful personal relationships. She's actually fine with that, preferring the life of a solitary superhero and admitting that her personality doesn't make her well-suited for long-term team-ups, but she does lament not being able to stay in touch with Lincoln.
99[[/folder]]
100
101[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
102* Renee Fromage in the special ''WesternAnimation/{{Animalympics}}''; he was already a world-class athlete by the time he entered the games, but the song "Love's Not For Me" strongly implies that reaching his status meant sacrificing any chance of a meaningful relationship. The ImagineSpot starts with Renee abandoning a street-corner cafe to chase after the gold medal. At the song's end, he reaches the medal...but when he finds the rose he discarded earlier, his expression goes MyGodWhatHaveIDone, and Renee begins desperately looking for someone, ''anyone'' in the black void he finished in.
103-->''When all is said and done / And there's nothing left to do / Alone again / But where are you?''
104* ''WesternAnimation/Beowulf2007''. King Beowulf grumbles to his young mistress that when he was her age, he thought being a king was all about fighting, feasting, and wenching; which doesn't seem as fun now that he's older. She coaxes him into conceding that maybe the wenching isn't that bad.
105* In the AnimatedAdaptation of Creator/DrSeuss's ''Daisy-Head Mayzie'', the titular character ends up feeling lonely after reaching fame and fortune. She eventually left it all to go back with her friends. Shortly before the story, the narrator [[{{Anvilicious}} says out loud to the public that friendship is more important than fame and glory]].
106* The film ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' has Megamind winning over his nemesis right before falling under this trope. [[spoiler:The nemesis in question, Metro Man, had similarly fallen into it already, which led him to fake his death to give Megamind the aforementioned victory; all the fame and adoration he got felt far too empty because nothing challenged him, and he never felt he was given a choice to become a hero in the first place]].
107* In ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'', while Puss built a legend around himself of a LovableRogue adored by everyone but the law, it came at the cost of making a legend so big, it pushed everyone else out of his life, especially Kitty.
108* A quite literal example of this happens in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' where Ralph gets the medal he wanted, returns to his game and gets the key to the penthouse which he was told he would never get [[spoiler: but had to destroy Vanellope's racecar to prevent her from racing (breaking the little girl's heart in the process). And Fix-It Felix has left the game trying to find him and didn't return, causing the other Nicelanders to panic and abandon the game -- which is about to be unplugged. The irony of this is that Gene was the one who challenged Ralph to get said medal in the first place when really all Ralph wanted was to be accepted as a part of the game. So both are at fault here.]]
109-->'''Ralph:''' This is not what I wanted!\
110'''Gene:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Well, what did you want, Ralph?]]\
111'''Ralph:''' I don't know, I just... I was just tired of living alone in the garbage.\
112'''Gene:''' [[NoSympathy Well, now you can live alone in the penthouse]].
113[[/folder]]
114
115[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
116* Implied to be the case with Tyrell in ''Film/BladeRunner'', who is seen sleeping alone in a bedroom without any pictures of children or paramours nearby. This comes across as RuleOfSymbolism (he presumably has people in his life, but is still lonely).
117* ''Film/BlondieJohnson'': Blondie finally makes it to the top as a gangster, but the pain of leaving Danny behind makes the victory bittersweet.
118* This is ultimately Willy Wonka's problem in 2005's ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. In order to follow his childhood dream of becoming the greatest chocolatier in the world, he had to defy his dentist father -- and the latter ultimately decided IHaveNoSon and moved away, ''house and all'', so that Willy could never go back even if he wanted to. Later, he had to sack his original workforce to protect his recipes from being stolen and copied by rivals and found substitute workers in the Oompa-Loompas, who are the closest he has to friends. In the present, Mr. Wonka has NoSocialSkills and insists that the heir he chooses via the Golden Ticket tour [[spoiler: follow his lead and abandon his family]]. Charlie eventually helps him realize his mistakes and emotionally connect with others again. This trope '''only''' applies to this particular adaptation -- in [[Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory the source novel]] and other versions, Mr. Wonka is eccentric but, in his unique way, well-adjusted and happy to be who he is even if he doesn't have conventional relationships with others.
119* The film ''Film/CitizenKane'' is the archetypal example. One of the reasons why Kane tries to desperately cling to his wife and eventually comes true when she leaves him. It's also the meaning behind 'Rosebud' -- his life, though successful, was so unhappy that the greatest time he had was when he was a child and playing with his sled. This trope also appears when the reporter interviews Jacob Bernstein, who's the CEO of Kane's company. The interview takes place in a huge, spacious office, and Bernstein tells the reporter that he has plenty of time for the interview, since now that he's at the top, nobody wants to talk to him.
120* In ''Film/{{Click}}'', all Michael wanted was to get a promotion so he could provide better income for his family. Due to the Universal Remote being stuck on auto-pilot and fast-forwarding him through his lifetime, he eventually succeeds in becoming head of his company but is divorced from his wife, isn't really "there" as his kids grow up (with the threat of his son turning out just like him) and wasn't there for [[spoiler: the death of his father, which his auto-pilot self coldly brushed off in their last meeting. Luckily though he's given another chance to live his life without the use of the remote to focus more on his family than his work.]]
121* In the epilogue of ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' and ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer'', Conan is seen sitting on the throne he had been promised in the first movie. However, his dark expression and pensive pose show that it has brought him no comfort.
122--> ''And unto this, Conan! Destined to bear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow.''
123* Tracy Flick in ''Film/{{Election}}''. Dave even tells her when the two are dating.
124* Creator/NicolasCage's character in ''Film/TheFamilyMan'', although he doesn't realize it until he's shown [[ItsAWonderfulPlot what might have been]] had he not embarked on his high-powered Wall Street career.
125* George Simmons in ''Film/FunnyPeople'' is a famous and successful comedian internationally recognized through his movies, but he comes to realize that he's gradually pushed away everyone who ever cared about him, his movies are LowestCommonDenominator rubbish, and he's doomed to die a lonely and empty failure if he doesn't change his ways. Played with, however, in that it's not just achieving fame that is responsible for him being this way, but deep-seated emotional problems and self-loathing which stem back to way before he became successful.
126** Played with in that it's implied that their emotional problems are part of what makes the characters good comedians, at least initially. Meaning that to get to the top you have to be somehow lonely in the first place.
127* Michael Corleone in ''Film/TheGodfather'', with the added twist that, initially at least, he didn't even ''want'' to be the head of the '[[TheMafia family business]]'. It becomes the focal point for the final movie in the trilogy. Michael Corleone tries to repair the relationship with his wife and children now that he's legit in the eyes of the public (which was his ultimate goal for the family). [[spoiler:He goes to a Catholic Priest and confesses his ultimate sin of having his older brother Fredo killed. He finds a worthy successor to take over the business when he's gone. And just when things are looking up, his daughter gets killed by his enemies, breaking him for good.]]
128* The King of Qin in ''Film/Hero2002'' (who will become UsefulNotes/QinShiHuangdi after the end of the film) has secluded himself alone in his palace as he plans his empire and uses the term ''gua ren'' (寡人), meaning "lonely person" to refer to himself. To be fair, this is the term traditionally used by Chinese emperors to refer to themselves, but since Qin Shi Huangdi is the first emperor, the film insinuates that it was he that began this practice.
129* ''Film/IronMan1'': Initially, Tony Stark. He is one of the richest men in the world, who is blessed with both beauty and brains, and can essentially order beautiful women for...dinner. However, his parents, who were the only family he had, both died in 1991 when he was just twenty-one. Even Pepper, though she is a loyal employee, is not really a friend and when he admits this to Yinsen, he sadly remarks that Stark is "a man who has everything and nothing." Fortunately, Stark gets better. Much better.
130* ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'': In a deleted scene, Clarence explains to [[MorallyBankruptBanker Henry F. Potter]] that his wealth is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things as he's made countless enemies in order to get that far and that nobody cares in the least when he finally snuffs it. The realization hits Potter like a sack of bricks, dying of a heart attack shortly after.
131* The {{biopic}} ''Film/TheLifeAndDeathOfPeterSellers'' posits that Creator/PeterSellers' life came down to this; by the end, he's sadly watching home movies of him with his family and friends -- all either dead or distant -- and mourning all he's lost, and the only art he accomplishes in his final years that means anything to him is getting the film adaptation of ''Film/BeingThere'' made. (Sellers was, in fact, an intensely nostalgic man but he wasn't ''that'' lonely at the end of it all.)
132* ''Film/{{Limitless}}'':
133** Trying to get rich under [[FantasticDrug NZT]]'s influence, Eddie manages to alienate Lindy, the only person who truly cares about him, leaving him with the CorruptCorporateExecutive and TheMafiya.
134** Eddie's ex-wife also dumped him while she was under NZT's influence. Eddie would have not contacted her if not for his own problems with NZT.
135* Creator/NicolasCage plays this role again in ''Film/LordOfWar''. His character (based on a real person) becomes the most successful illegal arms dealer in the world, [[spoiler:but at the cost of losing his brother, his wife, and being disowned by his family who blamed him for his brother's death. Like the Interpol Agent who has been chasing him throughout the film said: "I'd tell you to go to hell, but you're already there."]]
136* Mentioned by name and quickly inverted in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqaDjnMg98A musical scene]] in ''Film/PreyForRockAndRoll'': "They say it's lonely at the top, lemme tell you, man, it kills at the bottom."
137* This is the point of the classic British film ''Room At The Top''.
138* The film ''Film/Scarface1983'' culminates with the title character, Tony Montana, alone after killing or alienating everyone who helped him get to the top of Miami's drug trade (those who didn't get killed by Sosa, that is) through his increasing paranoia brought on by his addiction to his own product. He is killed at the end of the movie, but not before making a balls-out final stand and blowing away a good number of Sosa's assassins in the process.
139* Mark Zuckerberg in ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'' created Facebook and becomes a billionaire but [[spoiler:loses his friend, his mentor and everyone else who was important to him.]] The film practically spells out the irony of a man who created a revolutionary method of enabling people to remain in touch ending up lonely and isolated in neon letters. As he sits in a room by himself sending a Facebook friend request to Erica Albright, the woman he shrugged off on a date at the beginning of the film, in what is likely a desperate effort to regain some sort of human connection, the following words appear as part of the film's afterword:
140-->"Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in the world."
141* The martial arts film, ''Film/SoulOfTheSword'', revolves around the [[NoNameGiven Nameless]] protagonist, "Nameless", seeking the title of the "King of Swords" to be the greatest sword-fighter in the martial world. He did achieve that status at the end of the film... after killing his benefactor, all his allies, and the only woman he loves. He's as miserable as the audience expects him to be once he gains the throne at the end. DiabolusExMachina quickly follows when his old rival comes back to challenge him one last time, eventually killing him.
142* ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' starts with Kirk dealing with this. [[TheKirk Jim Kirk]], a person who by his nature is fairly gregarious and easygoing, feels hemmed in and isolated by the responsibilities of command, and his interactions with his close friends are a bit muted at the beginning of the film. By the end, he's reacquainted himself with the sense of excitement and wonder that led him to Starfleet in the first place.
143* In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith,'' Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side to not only bring peace and order to the galaxy but to save his beloved wife Padme, ultimately suffering near-fatal injuries in the hopes of achieving these goals. The news that not only is she dead but ''he'' himself killed her and (he thinks) her unborn children shatters Anakin; the only thing he can utter after waking up is a gut-wrenching BigNo, leaving him to become the EmptyShell Darth Vader. So he did become NumberTwo of the Galactic Empire, but maintaining it is the only raison d'etre he has left.
144* ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'': Kim Jong-Il has a VillainousLament song about this, though he believes he'll solve the problem with even ''more'' power.
145* Daniel Day Lewis's character at the end of ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood''. But he outright says that he prefers it that way.
146--> ''There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money that I can get away from everyone.''
147* Bill describes Pai Mei this way in ''Film/KillBill''.
148-->'''Bill:''' Because he's a very, very, very old man, and like all rotten bastards, when they become old, they get lonely. Which has no effect on their dispositions, but it does teach them the value of company.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Literature]]
152* Celica in ''Literature/AkashicRecordsOfBastardMagicInstructor'' is an immortal with incredible magical power, skill, knowledge, and beauty. However, her power and immortality have led to many people fearing her, she's seen many friends die over the centuries, and she once went through a phase where she rejected anyone who tried to show kindness to her. By the present of the series, she's recovered to some extent thanks to adopting and living with Glenn, but she still has some issues.
153* In ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' the gifted scientist Dr. Robert Stadler states explicitly that is very lonely on the highest branches of the tree of intellect and is delighted to find “a work of genius that I didn’t create” (Galt’s motor). Life is pretty lonely for the Fiction500 characters, though it’s implied that only the “intellectuals”, leftist politicians, businessmen who can’t operate in a free market, and other powerful but talentless people envy them and wish to destroy them, whereas members of the public are not driven by envy and are given hope in an apparently hopeless situation by seeing great accomplishments from productive people.
154* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
155** Accelerator is a... complicated example. He's the highest-ranking esper in Academy City, fully capable of fighting entire armies, if not ''literally the entire planet'' by himself. When he first appears, he's brutally slaughtering an army of clones [[LevelGrinding in an attempt to become the unprecedented Level 6]]. His stated goal is to become strong enough that no one would ever challenge him, that "[[AGodAmI the mere thought of fighting me would be an unthinkable sin]]." But the truth is that his power has made people terrified of him for his entire life--unless he consciously lets down his defenses, merely touching him results in a broken limb at best, and he's been the target of countless experiments and assassination attempts. [[IJustWantToHaveFriends All he really wants is to be accepted]], but he decided that was impossible, so he went along with the Level 6 Shift just so that he would become strong enough to be left the hell alone. He's really jealous of Touma, because while Touma's AntiMagic right hand means he's the only person in the world who can beat Accelerator, he [[MagneticHero also has lots of friends and loved ones]].
156** Othinus is a PhysicalGod, and under certain circumstances can even be omnipotent. She had no friends; all of her henchmen follow her out of fear or because she offered them something. Touma eventually realizes that all her actions stemmed from a desire to find someone who truly understood her. Since she didn't believe the world held such a person, she was desperate enough to want to destroy and recreate the world. Touma proves that he understands her, causing her to pull a HeelFaceTurn.
157* ''Literature/CradleSeries'':
158** This is generally seen as an unavoidable fact of the world. Advancing in the [[SupernaturalMartialArts sacred arts]] naturally necessitates leaving behind most of the people you know; the concrete PowerLevels mean that hanging out with people weaker than you will just get them killed while slowing down your own progress. You keep getting stronger and stronger, but your friends are ''at best'' now your subordinates, and if you want to get ''really'' strong you'll probably leave them behind entirely. Eithan is vastly more powerful than Lindon and Yerin for most of the story, but does everything to raise them up to his level because [[IJustWantToHaveFriends he just wants friends who can advance alongside him]].
159--->'''Yerin''': My master used to say that no Path is wide enough for two.\
160'''Eithan''': And that is ''exactly'' the problem I wish to solve. I have been looking for people to walk with me every step of the way.\
161'''Yerin''': Where to?\
162'''Eithan''': To the end.
163** ''Reaper'' and later books reveal that [[spoiler:Eithan has a lot of experience here. In his first life as Ozmanthus Aurelius, he soared through the world's PowerLevels at a breakneck pace, ascending from the world itself, breaking records among the ascendant beings, and then becoming Ozriel the Reaper, the Judge of Death, literally the most dangerous entity in the entire universe. He found this to be so ''unspeakably'' lonely, and all his attempts to solve the serious systemic problems in the universe failed, so he descended back to Cradle in disguise in an attempt to prove his plans would work and make friends in the process. Several times throughout the series, characters will dismiss Eithan as a simple-minded fop who has never worked for anything and doesn't understand true strength--not realizing that he had '''everything''' they ever wanted and decided it wasn't worth the cost]].
164* ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'': [[TheScrooge Ebenezer Scrooge]]. One of the richest men in London, if not England itself, he got to where he is by sacrificing EVERYTHING important. His fiancée left him because of his obsession, his sister died in childbirth, and he is now estranged from his nephew (his only surviving family) because, despite the man's attempts at reaching out to him, Scrooge has forgotten how to relate to others. Even the death of his business partner Jacob Marley doesn't move him much. It's only when the spirits of Christmas show him that not only will his path lead to a lonely, unmourned death for himself, but also indirectly to the death of an innocent child and the effect his greed has on people around him, that Scrooge decides to turn things around. The epilogue states that in time, Scrooge did succeed in mending the bridges he had burned with the rest of humanity.
165* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfBarsetshire'': In ''Doctor Thorne'', Sir Roger Scatcherd has risen from a simple stonemason to become a wealthy industrialist, but because of this trope is [[TheAlcoholic drinking himself to death]]:
166-->Such a life as mine makes a man a fool, and makes him mad too. What have I about me that I should be afraid to die? I'm worth three hundred thousand pounds; and I'd give it all to be able to go to work to-morrow with a hod and mortar, and have a fellow clap his hand upon my shoulder, and say: 'Well, Roger, shall us have that 'ere other half-pint this morning?' I'll tell you what, Thorne, when a man has made three hundred thousand pounds, there's nothing left for him but to die. It's all he's good for then.
167* In ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' after he becomes King of Aquilonia, Conan says
168-->''When I was a fighting-man, the kettle-drums they beat,\
169The people scattered gold-dust before my horse's feet;\
170But now I am a great king, the people hound my track\
171With poison in my wine-cup, and daggers at my back.''
172* ''Literature/{{Confessions|SaintAugustine}}'': Augustine became one of the richest and most admired rhetoricians in the Roman Empire, but despite his riches and many pleasures, he found no peace in his many "friends" and possessions and revelries. It took throwing all that away and turning his heart only towards the source of all goodness for Augustine to find any peace in life.
173* ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars'': One reason Lafier and Jint bond so quickly is their shared experiences of this. Jint was made Abh nobility at a young age and all but one of his friends abandoned him when they learned that he was a Count. Lafier, meanwhile, is the granddaughter of the Abh Empress and resents the fact that everybody other than her immediate family tiptoes around her and treats her with deference, isolating her. When Jint met Lafier, he had no idea who she was, and she jumped at the chance to have a friend who wasn't so caught up in the differences in their social stations, while Jint finds himself strongly empathizing with her feelings of isolation among the masses.
174* ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'': Roland [[spoiler: reaches the Dark Tower and climbs to the top, saving everything in existence from extinction along the way -- but Roland himself is condemned to repeat his life [[GroundhogDayLoop over and over]] for the cruelties he committed in the name of this goal.]] It's implied that he only has to do it till he gets it right.
175* In ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', the greedy pope in Purgatory describes how he only sought the position for the power of it, only to find no rest. The Pope then converted and began to love the next life, the one he hopes to reach by ascending Mount Purgatorio.
176* One of Creator/WilliamGibson's short stories, "Dogfight", concerns a player of air combat simulations who's getting old but retains both his skill and a natural charm that allows him to befriend everyone at the local bar. A younger player meets a girl who DoesNotLikeMen and has a stash of upper-type drugs, and he threatens to rape her so as to intimidate her into handing over said drugs, which he figures will temporarily improve his skill so he can beat the older player. [[TheBadGuyWins He does]] -- but everyone's certain he cheated, and the older player continues to be the toast of the town while the younger one becomes a social outcast. Also, the older player is a paraplegic war veteran, and being the dogfight simulation champion seems to be one of the few genuine joys he has in life, making the new guy's win seem almost as pointlessly cruel as his attack on the girl to get the drugs.
177* ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'': In the "bored with power" variant, sorceress Sethra Lavode in Steven Brust's novels [[spoiler:creates an alternate persona, Kiera the Thief, who doesn't use her powers initially as a means of getting information, then continues the act because of the excitement of actually facing challenging situations again.]]
178* ''[[Literature/DragonLance Dragonlance: Legends]]'': Of all the Very Bad Things in the trilogy, perhaps the most horrifying is Astinus's description of how absolutely lonely [[spoiler:Raistlin]] will be when he finally achieves his [[AmbitionIsEvil evil ambitions]].
179* Paul Atreides in ''Literature/DuneMessiah''. Even more so his son Leto II. [[Literature/GodEmperorOfDune His grand design relied on purposely alienating himself from humanity, and turning into an ageless giant worm]] was a good start. After his sister who he shared an empathic bond with died, there was no one left to understand him. The ones who came close could only pity him.
180* Izaya from ''Literature/{{Durarara}}''. Unsurprisingly, being a gigantic, manipulative asshole tends not to win over a lot of friends.
181--> '''Namie:''' ''[after Izaya offered to treat her to hotpot]'' Because your little chatroom friends are having hotpot? If you're looking for someone to soothe your injured vanity, you should try a therapist.
182* In ''Literature/EndoAndKobayashiLive The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte'', Lieselotte's epiphany over her fiance, Crown Prince Siegwald, at the end of the first novel (which is not adapted in the manga) is mainly about this trope. She realized that [[TheChainsOfCommanding the avoidance of bias forces him to be at arm's length to everyone]], and Lieselotte is one of the two people[[note]]The other being Artur, owing to him being the future HighPriest and thus, strictly speaking, not a subject of the Crown.[[/note]] with whom Siegwald can legitimately be a bit more intimate. This means her standoffish attitude towards him is ''harming'' his well-being.
183* ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'': When Saber was a child, he was talented at every activity he tried, but this made everyone resent him, so he had no friends.
184* ''Literature/TheFountainhead'': Gail Wynand's entire ''life''. Creator/AynRand set out to do this quite deliberately. Her notes describe him as "a man who could have been", and he himself echoes that sentiment at the end.
185* In ''[[Literature/{{Daemon}} Freedom]]'', Loki/Gragg realises this of himself. He's the highest-level Darknet operative, but nobody thinks well of him.
186* ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'' in another archetypal example. Only three people that weren't employed by him attended his funeral: Nick (the narrator), his father, and one party guest (out of what was hundreds). This, in part, can be largely blamed on Gatsby himself, who secluded himself from social life barring those associated with Daisy, out of his desperate desire for her and her alone.
187* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
188** Voldemort is an example of someone being UNCARING about loneliness. He has no family [[spoiler: having murdered his own father and his grandparents]]. Most people are downright terrified of him, including a lot of his followers, which is just what he wants. Even though Bellatrix is loyal and attracted to him and a few other followers genuinely love him, he can never love, so the only reason he is lonely is that's what he wants.
189** This has caused a lot of problems in Dumbledore's life. He's so brilliant that there's just no one for him to really connect to in a deep way. When he was a young adult, he got a PromotionToParent after his father went to prison for [[PapaWolf attacking some Muggle boys for what's implied to have been a gang rape of his sister, Ariana]] and Ariana accidentally killed their mother. He had wanted to take a gap year to go see the world but he didn't want his brother, Aberforth, to leave school early to take care of her so he stayed and became her full-time caregiver. The first person he ever met that matched him was a young Gellert Grindlewald who was staying with an aunt. He was instantly smitten with Grindlewald and decided to renew the gap year plans with the very fragile Ariana in tow. Aberforth tried to stop them and a MeleeATrois ensued that killed poor Ariana (they don't know who killed her). He hated himself for over a century for letting having met someone who was his equal get to his head so quickly and causing her death. He's a person and people make mistakes but when someone as brilliant as he is does, it causes really bad consequences. He and his brother are still pretty distant as adults as Aberforth never really forgave him and he really just doesn't have many people that understand him. [=McGonagall=] is probably the only person in his life that he's close to that could be considered close to his equal. It's notable that she's one of the few people that gets to question him.
190* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, [[Literature/LastHeraldMageTrilogy Vanyel]] suffers particularly from this. Normally, Heralds are TrueCompanions and can at least count on one another for support and camaraderie. They have an inherent fellowship even if they're set apart from others. But Vanyel became a Herald under strange circumstances; he hid a SecretRelationship with a popular Herald-trainee [[ArmoredClosetGay by pretending to be violently homophobic]] and did not make friends, which encouraged Tylendel's peers to hate Vanyel. Then Tylendel killed himself and Vanyel was [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening empowered]] and Chosen all in one night. Not knowing the full context, many other Chosen [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead wished Vanyel had died instead]], which Van was [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead painfully aware of]] thanks to his new PsychicPowers, and because he also had PowerIncontinence he was such a danger to everyone around him that he was taken out of the country to be healed. His Herald-Mage aunt [[ExtremelyShortTimespan promotes him to full Herald before taking him back]], which causes rumors of nepotism and means he never really has peers.
191** In ''Magic's Promise'' Vanyel meets another Herald on the road and enjoys a sense of fellowship until it's destroyed when he tells her his name - he's so FamedInStory that her attitude turns instantly to reverence and awe verging on fear, which he finds very upsetting. Later in the book he manages a remote RulingFamilyMassacre and is almost killed before [[DontFearTheReaper Death brings him back]], which has even servants he'd known as a kid, who previously [[NoHeroToHisValet just took a proprietary pride in him]], ducking their heads in that same awed fear. This disturbs Van to the point of cutting off his emotional connections to most people.
192** In the third book he has only a handful of friends and one reflects that they're really more like friendly acquaintances who can chat with Vanyel, sure, but are given absolutely no window into his serious thoughts and feelings, let alone if and how they can help him.
193-->'''Vanyel''': “Heralds are all lonely; we’re different ... Herald-Mages are one step lonelier than that. Then there’s me.”
194* In ''Literature/IveBeenKillingSlimesFor300YearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'', [[MaouTheDemonKing Pecora]] finds her role as Demon King to be a bit suffocating since her demon subjects are so subservient they never even try to give criticism to her actions, let alone talk to her in a forceful way, not even the decently strong Beelzebub who can compare to or potentially even surpass her, which annoys her since her greatest desire is to have a commanding CoolBigSis figure in her life. It's to the point she was overjoyed as soon as she learned of Azusa's existence, as she's both absolutely stronger than Pecora and since Azusa is human, she has no societal obligations to be subservient to her, so with a little nudging Pecora was finally able to find somebody who could be the controlling and domineering sibling figure she always wanted.
195* ''Literature/JudgeDee'': When it becomes obvious that Dee is on the fast track to promotion to Lord Chief Justice of all China, he begins to remember what his father, himself a prominent official, told him in his youth: "It's very lonely, at the top."
196* Constantius writes the titular ''Literature/{{Julian}}'' a poignant letter to this effect while on his deathbed. Julian had to deal with this even before becoming Augustus, but more or less reconciled himself with it.
197* ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'': When Reinhard finally becomes the Emperor, neither his best friend Kircheis nor his [[BigBrotherInstinct big sister Annerose]] are there to witness it.
198** He still has [[SubordinateExcuse Hilda]] at his side, having even worse social skills than Yang, the clod [[ObliviousToLove does not see it]]
199*** [[spoiler: Arguably subverted. He eventually gets a clue and marries Hilda. It's even theorized in-universe that his early death less than a year after taking over the known universe was either because of this trope hitting him fatally hard or to ''avoid'' it (there being nothing else to conquer).]]
200* Jean Valjean's alter-ego Mr. Madeleine in ''Literature/LesMiserables'' becomes one of the most renowned men in France for his intelligence and generosity, but his acts of charity stem more from penitence than true benevolence. The townspeople quickly turned against him when his identity was revealed, showing no one really liked or trusted him.
201* ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' by Creator/CSLewis:
202** Jadis sums the trope up pretty well, but she actually means it as a sort of self-praise:
203--->'''Jadis:''' Ours is a high and lonely destiny.
204** Digory notes that his uncle said the same thing, but it sounds a lot better when Jadis says it because she's a seven-foot-tall, dazzlingly beautiful sorceress (who, not coincidentally, [[spoiler: nuked her entire world]] so she could be its sole queen.)
205* In ''Literature/{{Maoyu}}'', TheHero is the WorldsStrongestMan. Archer reveals that Hero's great power means that it is difficult for him to connect with others, and no one can truly fight by his side because they would be irrelevant.
206* ''Literature/{{Overlord|2012}}'' has the titular Overlord Ainz Ooal Gown. Once a former gamer in a VMMORPG called YGGDRASIL, he found himself transported into the New World where he is the most powerful spellcaster. However, being an Overlord isn't all it's cracked up to be. Everyone in Nazarick is a subordinate (and sees him as a deity so they are always subservient to his will). The rest of the world knows him as the EvilOverlord, an EldritchAbomination, a PhysicalGod, TheHero, or some combination thereof. Because of this, Ainz has no one he can confide in or call an equal, which often leaves him feeling isolated and alone. Thus, his main goal is to find other YGGDRASIL Players, originally part of his guild or not, because he wants to have the friendship of a fellow human from Earth and try to be Satoru Suzuki again. This is best summed up by the lyrics of the anime adaptation's season 4 ending song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAUbD-DjTyc No Man's Dawn]]", sung from Ainz's perspective, where he expresses how he deeply misses his old comrades and longs for the glory days of Ainz Ooal Gown (the guild). Showing that even with all his power and the entirety of the New World practically at his fingertips, Ainz would gladly give it all up if it means he could have his old friends back.
207* Creator/EdwinArlingtonRobinson's poem "[[Literature/CollectedPoems1921 Richard Cory]]", and the song of the same title by Music/SimonAndGarfunkel. Richard Cory is a rich, elegant, successful man who is envied by everyone around him -- until he suddenly kills himself.
208* ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'': [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Celia Mauser]] is a literal example, as she presides over the world as its caretaker, though the rest of humanity has come to revere her as their god and have created a religious order in her name. They're unaware that [[GenderConcealingWriting she's a woman]], or that she's spent the last five millennia completely alone. That's because [[GhibliHills the realm where she exists]] lies above their world and is devoid of all other life; including fauna.
209* ''Sister Carrie'': The title character achieves her dream of Broadway stardom. This is after she has lost her innocence, become estranged from her family, worked her way through a string of lovers, and watched her self-destructive ex-husband blow through his fortune, wind up homeless, and ultimately commit suicide. Therefore, with the knowledge of all, she has lost and the disillusionment it has caused, living her dream can never make her happy. The final lines of the novel sum up her situation perfectly:
210--> ''In your rocking-chair, by your window dreaming, shall you long, alone. In your rocking-chair, by your window, shall you dream such happiness as you may never feel.''
211* Although not really covered in the film, Creator/MattStover's novelization of ''Franchise/StarWars: Episode III -- Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' notes this regarding Anakin Skywalker's transformation to Darth Vader, calling it the trap of the Sith. In becoming Vader, he has lost everything he cares about and he wants to lash out at the Emperor after he tells him the truth of Padme's death, but he lacks even the power to do that. And he finds that he doesn't even really wants to, for the Emperor is all he has.
212* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', Mapleshade knows that Crookedstar will become clan leader, so she aims to get his entire family killed and make him this. Her plan fails when Crookedstar explains that once his time is over, everyone he cares about will be waiting for him in the afterlife.
213[[/folder]]
214
215[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
216* ''Series/AllInTheFamily'': In the episode ''Success Story'', one of Archie's friends comes over for a party, and shows off his success. The friend seems on top of the world until Mike walks in and overhears a blistering phone call between the man and his son, in which the son all but cuts off ties with him.
217* A season of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' ends with Cordelia [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence rising to a higher plane of existence]] and becoming, essentially, a goddess. The next season's opening episode shows her in all her god-like glory whining, "God, I'm ''so'' bored!" For a good chunk of the next season, she watches her earthly friends assume she's in a better place while trying helplessly to get them to bring her back.
218* In an episode of ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'', Mrs Slocombe is temporarily promoted to the head of her department when Rumbold is out sick. However, she realizes quickly that it's incredibly boring and that she misses interaction with her coworkers and customers.
219* Londo Mollari's character arc on ''[[Series/BabylonFive Babylon 5]]''.
220* In ''Series/{{Community}}'''s inevitable Mafia movie episode, Abed begins a crime syndicate centered around the delivery of highly desirable (but limited) ...[[MacGuffin chicken fingers]]. [[spoiler:By the end of the episode, [[Film/TheGodfather 'the family']] has become corrupt, bloated, and complacent. In the clincher, Abed is seen, alone, saddened by the destitution his rise to power has caused. [[StatusQuoIsGod Status quo being God, all is back to rights at the end.]]]]
221* Most {{Anvilicious}} example ever: the first season of ''Series/DegrassiJuniorHigh''. Stephanie becomes the most popular girl in school by lying and exploiting her friends -- until the season finale when her victims finally turn the tables on her. Cue {{flashback}}s of every despicable thing she did. Then we see Stephanie crying in the bathroom, and she moans, "I only wanted them to like me!"
222* ''Series/DoctorWho''
223** In ''The Invasion of Time'', it ''looks'' like the Doctor has done this, abandoning his companion to become Lord President of Gallifrey, and then aiding an alien invasion of his home planet. It all turns out to be a [[ThePlan heroic plan]].
224** Kazran Sardick in ''A Christmas Carol'' which, obviously, draws inspiration from the Charles Dickens story.
225* The mainland Chinese historical drama ''Series/TheEmpressOfChina'' culminates in the coronation of [[SheIsTheKing Wu Zetian]] after she eliminated all of her rivals through war, intrigue, and backstabbing over the course of the series, resulting in this exchange:
226-->'''Wu Zetian''': ''And where are my enemies now''?
227-->'''[[TheGoodChancellor Li Chunfeng]]''': All of your enemies are dead!
228-->'''Wu Zetian''': Where are my friends?
229-->'''Li Chunfeng''': They're all dead, too.
230* ''Series/{{ER}}'': The funeral of [[spoiler:Doctor Romano]], is attended solely by Dr. Corday. [[spoiler:Romano]] was a JerkAss to many of his colleagues and patients.
231* In one episode of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', Will is dropped off by some jerkass jocks in a cemetery after he passes out drunk following a drink-off. He, seemingly, wakes up and meets some ghosts who haunt the place, one of whom is a businesswoman who worked herself to death. While she claims she was happy to reach the top, her tone implies otherwise since she never had time for friends or a love life, thus having no family in the process. Will even lampshades it.
232-->'''Ghost Woman''': Hey, we may have paid the ultimate price, but we at least earned people's respect.
233-->'''Will''': Yes, their ''last'' respects.
234* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', this becomes Rachel's mantra. She tells herself that she might as well get used to it if she wants to be famous, but she's mostly trying to convince herself that her lack of friends and the constant bullying isn't really getting to her.
235* In ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'', in the finale Sougo obtains the ultimate power and becomes a nigh-omnipotent PhysicalGod who rules over all of time and space. Yet despite this, he isn't happy. And when given a choice of being the ruler of everything like his future self is, he instead chooses to give all the power up to fix all of reality. His reasoning being that there's no point in having unlimited power, nor being the ruler of all if he has no one to celebrate it with.
236* ''Series/TheKingsWoman'': Ying Zheng. His birth father constantly tries to use and manipulate him, while his mother, grandmother, wife, and concubines are busy fighting among themselves. He outright says his half-brother Cheng Jiao is the only real family he has, and Cheng Jiao rebels when he learns the truth about Ying Zheng's parentage. By the end of the series, he's even more alone than he was at the start, [[LaserGuidedKarma and he has no one to blame but himself.]]
237* Sidney Teal, the eponymous billionaire mugger in the ''Series/{{Monk}}'' episode "[[Recap/MonkS1E6MrMonkAndTheBillionaireMugger Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger]]", His chauffeur says that despite having a huge house, incredible riches, and a beautiful wife, Teal was the loneliest guy in the world. Eventually it's revealed that the reason he was performed the mugging that got him shot dead was that [[spoiler: he was trying to relive the one moment in his life when he truly felt cool; in college, his friend pretended to mug him and then be scared off so that Teal could impress a date. The same friend went on to have an affair with Teal's wife and to get him out of the way, asked him to stage a fake mugging to impress a girl as an excuse to shoot him.]]
238* ''Series/{{Narcos}}: Mexico'':
239** While its implied in Season 1, its played very straight for Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo in Season 2. While he runs the operation because of his ability to move cocaine from Colombia throughout Mexico into the United States, he is not liked or respected by the people he works with. He has no friends he can really count on, and his closest men are with him for the money. Eventually even his wife leaves him when she can't stand how awful he's become, which he soothes with a string of hookers and mistresses. He admits this himself, by claiming he doesn't have friends, only employees. [[spoiler: By the end of the season, all of them turn against Félix and freeze him out of his own empire, leaving him to get arrested by the new Mexican government he helped put in power.]]
240** Amado Carrillo Fuentes discovers the same reality in Season 3 when he is at the top. His clever maneuvering against the other Cartels and his deal with Cali to be paid in product allows him to transform the Juarez Cartel into the wealthiest criminal empire in the world. However, while he lives in a ridiculously lavish mansion, he spends much of his time by himself in said empty mansion instead of indulging in HookersAndBlow like his counterparts. This is partially because of his failed marriage and the death of his daughter, partially because he knows his time is limited. He's forced to betray the one person he truly considered a friend, Pacho Herrera, to keep his empire intact. He strikes up a romance with an Afro-Latina singer in Havana, Cuba, but only visits her infrequently as a way to briefly get away from his daily life.
241* In ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'', Cookie finally gets to spend time with Liza Zemo who's gotten much cuter since her makeover. However, he gets into an academic competition with his rival, Evelyn Kwong, and decides to dedicate his time to studying and outdoing her on a test. Cookie succeeds, but this left him virtually no time to hang out with Liza and by the time he finally can, he finds other suitors have moved in to flirt with Lisa since Cookie was too busy to do so. Principal Wright even tells him that while he's happy that Cookie gave Polk Middle School its highest test score in the school district, the next time a cute girl asks him to go have some pizza with her, he should do it.
242* During an episode of ''Series/NUMB3RS'', Charlie and Larry went to the funeral of one of Larry's colleagues. Larry laments how the man was brilliant and a genius and yet, there was no one else at the funeral except for the two of them.
243* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Mr. Whipple, in the episode of the same name. He is a grouchy, reclusive millionaire who is often called upon by governments or governing bodies (such as the school board) to provide financial advice (in-story he's referred to as a "dollar-a-year" man). Mr. Whipple keeps vicious dogs on his property to avoid being bothered by people asking for a handout. When a misunderstanding leads to the Madison High gang thinking he's starving, and bringing over food for the captain-of-industry, he relents in his miserliness and shows himself to have a HiddenHeartOfGold.
244* In ''Series/QueenOfTheSouth'', we know that Tereza Mendoza eventually becomes the titular drug queen, but none of her friends appear in the FlashForward, which suggests that she lost everyone she ever cared about along the way.
245* ''Series/{{Revenge}}'' has Daniel who alienated everybody he ever loved to get to the top of Grayson Global.
246* ''Series/TheRiseOfPhoenixes'': Ning Yi becomes emperor but almost all of his family and [[spoiler: Zhi Wei]] are dead.
247* In ''Series/{{Rome}}'', while Atia achieves the goal she's been aiming for, she finds it's Lonely At The Top.
248* Pointed out by Lex in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', regarding his dad (though Lionel doesn't seem to see it this way):
249-->'''Lex:''' When my father dies, kings will come to his funeral, but when yours[[note]]Clark's[[/note]] does, his friends will come.
250* In ''Series/SquidGame'', it's revealed that the "[=VIPs=]" running the DeadlyGame are, as one would expect, a cabal of rich guys so bored with their lives [[TheGamblingAddict gambling on human life]] is the only way they can feel anything anymore. [[spoiler: The mastermind explains that having no money and more money than you know what to do with are two sides of the same coin, as with the former you can't get anything you want while with the latter [[VictoryIsBoring you're so used to getting everything you want that it loses all meaning]]. Gi-hun ultimately subverts this, as he manages to find some [[GoodFeelsGood fulfillment in using the prize money to help those around him and support his daughter]] instead of splurging on himself like his captors.]]
251* The TV movie ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Command_(film) Star Command]]'': Shane Ridnaur explains this to a cadet. The commanding officer is alone and must appear [[TheChainsOfCommanding invincible]] to encourage confidence among the crew.
252* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', "True Q," uses the "boredom of power" version. This trope can also apply to the Borg Queen and her chasing after Picard. Yes, his main purpose was to facilitate the assimilation of Humanity, but judging by First Contact, A certain evil queen was getting lonely.
253* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Discussed in the ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial Flash Gordon]]'' style holoprogram ''The Adventures of Captain Proton!'' with MadScientist Doctor Chaotica pining after fellow BigBad Queen Arachnia.
254-->'''Chaotics:''' Oh, Arachnia, my love, my life! How well you understand our plight. If it weren't beneath my dignity, I... [[ManlyTears I would weep!]] How I've ''longed'' for someone who would understand!\
255'''Arachnia:''' We have a saying on Arachnia. [[TheChainsOfCommanding It's lonely at the top]].
256* Many, many episodes of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959''. "The Mirror" is a famous example, showing how dictators are lonely men that are their own worst enemy. Also "Of Late, I Think of Cliffordville", where this trope is one of the protagonist's motives for accepting the DealWithTheDevil.
257* In the ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' movie, Alex wins the Wizard Competition and has Full-Wizard abilities, but this comes at the price of losing the person she cares most about and being left alone.
258[[/folder]]
259
260[[folder:Music]]
261* Music/RandyNewman -- ''Lonely at the Top'', which is completely sarcastic, as Newman was nowhere ''near'' the top when he wrote and recorded it. On ''Randy Newman Live'' when he sings the lines, "All the applause and all the parades/And all the money I have made," he cracks up laughing.
262* Music/PaulAnka -- ''Lonely Boy'', where the protagonist is both rich and famous, yet utterly lonely.
263* The narrator of Jamey Johnson's "Lonely at the Top" (co-written by the late Keith Whitley) is a rising CountryMusic star who begins to complain about the pressure and fame brought upon by his newfound success. A fellow bar patron offers this wry remark: "it might be lonely at the top, but it's a bitch at the bottom."
264* This is the theme of ''Stars and the Moon'', the signature song of Jason Robert Brown.
265* The basic idea of Music/KanyeWest's ''808s and Heartbreak'' album, especially the track "Welcome to Heartbreak." "My friend showed me pictures of his kids / and all I could show him was pictures of my cribs / he said his daughter got a brand new report card / and all I got was a brand new sports car"
266%%** His later album, ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', has this in spades.
267* A theme in many of Music/{{Eminem}}'s songs but particularly, "Say Goodbye Hollywood," which contains the lyrics: "I sold my soul to the devil, I'll never get it back, if I could go back I never woulda rapped" and "'Cause all I wanted was to give Hailie the life I never had, instead I forced us to live alienated.'
268* The very first sentence of Music/GangStarr's "Moment of Truth". "They say it's lonely at the top in whatever you do."
269%%* "It Can Get Lonely In My Mansion" by Music/LemonDemon.
270* Music/JohnnyCash -- ''Ballad of a Teenage Queen''. Everyone says she should be a movie star, but when she finds fame and fortune on the big screen, she is still pining for the boy next door.
271* "To The End" by Music/MyChemicalRomance. The first verse is (if you're reading the lyrics literally) about a guy who lives alone in a giant mansion and kills people. Including everyone who attends his wedding. And later, his wife. Then again, if you're killing everyone in your neighborhood...
272%%* "Doomsday Clock" by Smashing Pumpkins.
273%%* Simple Plan's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ReXlRDQY9k "Loser of the Year."]]
274%%* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXwBuqYWUg0 "King of Insects"]] by Assemblage 23 is about this, with a hint of MayorOfAGhostTown.
275* Pain of Salvation's BE album features a character known as "Mr. Money", who actually quotes the trope. "They say it's lonely at the top, and I'm as lonely as can be!"
276%%* The whole point of Music/BillyJoel's "Everybody Loves You Now."
277* "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay is about a man who, despite being incredibly powerful (he's referred to as a king) has no friends and is clearly not loved by those he rules over.
278-->Just a puppet on a lonely string. Oh, who would ever want to be king?
279%%* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnBYWI8pxmU Everybody's Fool]]" by Music/{{Evanescence}}.
280* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFBbOHohwR8 "King Nothing"]] by Music/{{Metallica}}.
281* Music/{{Suede}}'s "The 2 of Us", whose narrator is "alone but loaded". (Doubles as a BreakupSong).
282* The Icehouse song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Tt4PybAMQ "Mr. Big"]]. "Something is missing Mr. Big" indeed.
283* Music/{{Queen|Band}}:
284** The protagonist of [[Music/ANightAtTheOpera "Good Company"]] manages to achieve his dream of owning a successful business, but at the cost of driving away his family and friends with his excessive dedication to his work. At the end of the song, he realizes what a tremendous mistake he made in spite of his material success, calling himself insane as a result.
285** [[Music/TheWorks "It's A Hard Life"]] is written from the viewpoint of a man with wealth who still can't find love.
286* Music/ImagineDragons' "Gold" makes material wealth sound like an inadequate replacement for human companionship.
287* "Dogs" from Music/PinkFloyd's ''Music/{{Animals|1977}}'' carries this as a ''major'' theme. The high-powered executive who spent his youth clawing and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder betraying]] his way to the top will have...nothing at all to show for it at the end.
288--> You gotta keep one eye/Lookin' over your shoulder
289--> But, you know, it's gonna get harder/And harder/And harder/As you get older
290--> And in the end, you'll pack up/Fly down south/Hide your head in the sand
291--> Just another sad, old man/All alone, and dyin' of cancer.
292** ''Music/TheWall'' takes it one step further: Pink, the high-flying rock'n'roll star, realizes that he might end up like this unless he stops running away and confronts his monsters.
293* {{Music/Rihanna}}'s "What Now" off her ''Unapologetic'' album is about this.
294* "Where Gravity is Dead" by Laura Veirs combines a sad riff in G# minor with these lyrics:
295-->"But doesn't it get lonely, riding up there to the sun\
296On a single raft for one, don't you wish for someone\
297To pull you on a string, down from atmospheres,\
298Down into a clearing, to kiss and box your ears?\
299That's where you found yourself,\
300Riding into the sun, on a raft made for one..."
301* In "Where did you go to my lovely" and "Last of the Breed" by Music/{{Peter Sarstedt}}, the story of successful woman Marie-Claire becomes this trope.
302* The Music/ZacBrownBand gives us ''Heavy Is the Head''. The refrain goes, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown." The second half of the second verse really exemplifies this trope:
303-->"Mad man, blood on the altar\
304Queen will have his head\
305His ghost will shake those rattling chains\
306Long after he's dead.\
307No soul knows his trouble\
308High upon his throne\
309Loved by few and judged by many\
310He bears that weight alone."
311* The song "Washingtons on Your Side" from ''Music/TheHamiltonMixtape'', posits that Music/WizKhalifa, after having worked hard to reach where he is, finds himself alone and surrounded by his money (his "Washingtons"), despite what other people say about wealth.
312%%* "Beats so lonely" by Charlie Sexton.
313* "It's getting dangerous" by Music/ThinLizzy, told by an ex-youth friend of the loner.
314* Mike Posner's "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" is a loosely autobiographical song that describes the emptiness that the singer, a OneHitWonder, feels despite his wealth, fame, and the trappings of success like girls, sports cars, and adoring fans. (Ironically, this song became Posner's second big hit, surpassing his previous efforts by far.)
315* Said word-for-word in Music/{{Sia}}'s "Big Girls Cry", where Sia describes in the second verse the impact that fame had on her; other interviews delving into her aversion to fame highlight how touring was lonely and travelling to a different place every day and promoting her music to death was making her sick.
316* Addressed indirectly as a core theme of "Anti-Hero" by Music/TaylorSwift, in which she laments her insecurities and worries that everyone around her will betray her, [[ClassicalAntiHero and it will be her own fault]]. While not said outright, the song tacitly alludes to Swift's monolithic celebrity status by way of her specific fears that all her actions -- no matter appearing how affectionate or altruistic -- will be scrutinized by virtue of everyone knowing about her, and there's nothing to stop them from assuming she's a faker hiding selfish intentions behind a pretty face.
317-->"Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism\
318Like some kind of congressman? ''(A tale as old as time)''\
319I wake up screaming from dreaming, one day, I'll watch as you're leaving\
320And life will lose all its meaning ''(For the last time)''"
321[[/folder]]
322
323[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
324* OlderThanFeudalism: One king of Israel in Literature/TheBible, most likely Solomon, lamented in the Literature/BookOfEcclesiastes over all the vanity in his life.
325* The UrExample is probably {{God}} himself. Having existed at the beginning and the end, no one else is like him. He created countless angels to do his bidding yes, but they are not gods. Compared to him, they are servants at best, and machines at worse. He can't create ''another god'' for companionship, as that would make him [[RealityBreakingParadox not God anymore]]. He lampshaded this much, when he saw there was no one else like Adam in Eden, and immediately sought to create a partner for him, as it ''was not good'' for man to be alone.
326[[/folder]]
327
328[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
329* It has been said that Wrestling/VinceMcMahon has no life outside of WWE. He has no real friends, only business contacts. It was once said that his children, Shane and Stephanie, joined the company because they would never see him otherwise.
330* Professional Wrestlers, in general, are known to make a lot of enemies in their field, given it's all about competition -- and, unless you're somewhere that values {{tag team}}s and/or [[PowerTrio trios]] like Wrestling/{{AAA}} or Wrestling/{{CMLL}}, purely individual competition. High-level pro wrestling also doesn't lend itself to interactivity with other human beings. While Wrestling/DolphZiggler claims to only work out an hour a day and Wrestling/BookerT claims to get his workout in the ring, Wrestling/LowKi works out five hours a day and [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Amazing Kong]] works out for six. Even in Ziggler and Booker's cases, what they gain in time outside the gym, they lose in that a significant portion of their careers have been in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, which puts its talent on the road for 300 days a year.
331* {{Discussed| trope}} on commentary at Wrestling/RingOfHonor during the Winter of 2010, where it was theorized The [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Kings]] [[Wrestling/ChrisHero Of]] [[Wrestling/SaraDelRey Wrestling]] likely met up because they otherwise have no social life, practically living in the gym. The commentators of Remix Pro came to the same conclusion.[[/folder]]
332
333[[folder:Theatre]]
334* ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'': Franz Joseph spends "Nichts ist Schwer" informing Elisabeth what she's getting into by marrying him: the Emperor is lonely at the top, even though he can never be alone, with his every move watched by others. She reassures him that they can be alone together.
335* An Irish play called ''The Field'' ends with an old man getting exactly what he wants, the titular field. However, he gets it at the expense of both of his sons, his wife, and any and all respect he had from local townspeople. And, because he wanted the land for the purpose of leaving a legacy to his family when he ''does'' get the field, it's worthless.
336* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', Hamilton himself doesn't ever cross into this—most of the show is him trying to become more and more successful and usually doing so. But Eliza begins to feel the strain of her husband's success, constantly asking him why their family can't be enough: since Alex Ham is lonely at the top, Eliza's lonely too.
337* ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'': Macbeth realizes that all the power he has gained is meaningless for the evil he has had to do to attain it. His former comrades are revolting against him, his wife is dead, and the events that foretell his death are coming to pass; he concludes that Life "is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." On ''the very day of his coronation'', he laments that by fulfilling the witches' prophecy, he's also ensured that Banquo's descendants, not his, would be the future kings of Scotland. "''I'm'' the one who orchestrated Duncan's murder, and ''he'' gets to have the dynasty! Stupid worthless crown!" Even worse, he ''knew'' this would happen because the witches told him. Needless to say, it was all downhill from there.
338* In ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', this is the main thrust of the song "Thank Goodness''. [[StepfordSmiler Glinda]] finds that even though she is heralded as a hero throughout the kingdom and fiancée to a man she loves, she feels dissatisfied.
339--> '''Glinda''': ''I couldn't be happier! That's right, I couldn't be happier!\
340Though it is, I admit, the tiniest bit, unlike I anticipated\
341[[BlatantLies But I couldn't be happier! Yes, I couldn't be happier!]]\
342Well, not simply.\
343Strange though it seems, getting your dreams, is a little bit complicated\
344There's a kind of a sort of...cost\
345There's a couple things that got...lost\
346There are bridges you crossed you didn't know you crossed until you crossed them!''
347[[/folder]]
348
349[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
350* Endemic to ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting of GothicHorror; since the Dark Powers seem to enjoy giving bad people new and interesting ways to live an eternity of suck, this is not particularly surprising. To give some examples from its ample supply of Darklords:
351** Count Strahd: murdered his brother in order to ensure his own immortality, thereby making his brother's betrothed -- who Strahd was in love with -- hurl herself over the walls of Strahd's castle.
352** Azalin Rex: killed his only son for being "unworthy" (read: still possessing a conscience), and would dearly love to bring him back but his curse means he can't learn new magic, which would be required.
353** Jacqueline Renier, who is perhaps the queen of this trope. Intensely monophobic, she has to spend her time with her vicious family (all of whom hate her) and will transform into a wererat in the company of anyone she actually cares for.
354* The God-Emperor of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. Let's face it. His obsession being the survival of mankind, he has really lost everything: his sons, his closest friend Malcador, the atheism he tried to build up in his Imperium, his self-respect, many other things, now spending eternity living in mind-wracking pain, being kept alive by the Golden Throne he sits on, being forced to watch how everything he built has rotted and become a shadow of its former self... he doesn't have anything left.
355[[/folder]]
356
357[[folder:Video Games]]
358* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'': Tom Nook is revealed to have been best friends with Sable in the past, but he lost their friendship in favor of running his Cranny (later "Nookington's").
359* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'': Last Raven is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin built around this]] in a way that you are the last remaining Raven after a day's war. The exact circumstances leading up to it vary depending on the storyline, but the hardest path requires you to actively hunt down the other Ravens and be the last man standing.
360* Part of [[spoiler:Edward Kenway]]'s HeelRealization in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' is from him ''finally'' admitting this, or at least verbalizing it. For all the wealth that he's gained, near the end of the game [[spoiler:Mary Read passed away despite his attempts to rescue her in his escape from Kingston, his crew mutinies against him or ditches him at least twice, and the end, Adewale -- who'd been with him from the very beginning of the days of the ''Jackdaw'' -- has finally had enough of Edward and leaves to join the Assassins... and when he struck down Ben Hornigold, his former friend turned Templar, he was in no uncertain terms told that he'd be all alone in the world]].
361* Long before the events of ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'', Henry Stein and Joey Drew -- the co-founders of Joey Drew Studios -- had gone their separate ways. Henry went on to have a happy family, but Joey built up a "crooked empire" that eventually crumbled. By the time Henry sees him 30 years later, Joey [[spoiler: lives in an apartment all by himself, displaying photos and letters of the employees he once treated like dirt on a bulletin board]].
362* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'': Andrew Ryan severely buggered up his entire ideology during the course of his attempt to spread and strengthen it by building Rapture, and by the end of the game, [[spoiler: he's left alone in his office, without a single ally left, and resigned to his imminent death that he invokes you to do unto him.]]
363* The second half of ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' becomes increasingly depressing, and culminates in Conker becoming king. He's surrounded by people he hates, and he wants nothing more than to go home and have a beer with his girlfriend -- but [[spoiler:she's dead because he ''forgot'' to bring her back to life when he had the chance.]] Conker sitting on the throne depressed is how the game opens.
364* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'': An accidental version of this trope shows up in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt9vm3J4e6w&feature=related Almaz ending]]. [[spoiler: Wannabe-hero Almaz defeats Mao and as a reward, Mao's father makes Almaz the new overlord. As a result, all his friends (even the princess that Almaz loves) leave him, and the game ends with the new overlord all alone.]]
365* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' -- Hawke loses a family member with every step up the social ladder, whether or not you "betray" any of them. In the endgame, several of your TrueCompanions can turn on you depending on whose side you take. The best fit would be siding with the Templars and [[spoiler: letting Meredith kill Bethany in the Circle. Congratulations, you get to (temporarily) be Viscount at the cost of the last member of your family. Bethany's last words are even "I hope this was all worth it."]]
366* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' ends with Delita gaining the crown of Ivalice, but his excessive use of [[AmbitionIsEvil manipulation and deceit]] to get there alienates all his friends and allies. Even his queen, Ovelia--the woman on whose coattails he rode to get his ass on the throne--is so put off that she concludes she too was just another pawn in his heartless machinations and attempts to kill him for it. It fails, and he kills her in self-defense. The tragedy--or irony--is increased tenfold in the PSP version, which goes out of its way to remind the player that, yes, Delita indeed genuinely loved her and did all this as much for her sake as he did his own.
367* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''
368** Rhea, as Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, is one of the most powerful individuals on the continent of Fodlan. She ends up being isolated from most other people, including Seteth and Flayn, who are like family to her, and [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]] is the only character she can support with. She expresses in one advice column letter that she would like to join others in the dining hall, but doesn't feel as though she can. Her Forging Bonds events in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' touch on this aspect of her character, and [[OriginalGeneration Sharena]] encourages her to join some of the students in the dining hall, noting that royals and gods from other worlds do the same.
369** This issue is key to Edelgard's character arc. She points out that, as the future [[SheIsTheKing emperor]] of Adrestia, no one is equal to her, and quickly grows close to Byleth because they are the only one to treat her like an equal. Unlike Rhea, however, Edelgard ''can'' support with other characters, and can achieve a paired ending with any of them except for Petra.
370* Several of the Eternals in ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' have this and in particular Tweyen. She keeps losing friends out of fear for her power -- even most people in her hometown thought she was a monster. Even being in a group of people at a similar power level, she's still pretty lonely as most of them are off doing their own thing.
371* ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2'' has an example of this in the Conquest Ending. [[spoiler:Nepgear has killed all the other goddesses, including her sister, to power the SwordOfPlotAdvancement to kill the evil deity, Arfoire. Ultimately, this leads to her accomplishing what every comic book supervillain dreams of: the world is united under her rule, but all those of her friends who are still alive return to the places they call home, leaving her to rule alone, and she is willing to use "[[WellIntentionedExtremist any means necessary]]" to ensure peace and prosperity.]]
372-->'''Nepgear''': [[spoiler:This is the dark path that I've chosen to walk alone.]]
373* ComicBook/{{Bane}}'s Arcade ending in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'' has him defeat all the heroes and release all the imprisoned criminals, declaring "No more prisons! No more guards! No more Regime!" However, afterwards, he finds that he's already killed all the {{Worthy Opponent}}s who could have challenged him and there's nothing left to do -- which leads him to realize that being the king of the hill is a sort of prison in and of itself.
374* One of the bad ends of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' involves [[spoiler:[[FallenHero now-Demon King Oersted]] empowering his incarnations throughout the timeline to kill the heroes and take his revenge of being used and thrown away like how he went through. Credits rolled as Oersted strolls around the now-empty Kingdom of Lucretia, and it ends with him hanging his head low, now completely lonely without anyone, friends ''or'' foes from the past, present, or future, and doomed with such fate eternally.]]
375* ''VideoGame/{{Mafia}}'' is all about selling out to reach what ''appears'' to be the top; the real top is made of remorseless villains who trick their mooks into being as lonely as them.
376** Mafia 1: Tommy moves up the ladder trying to make a name for himself, only for one of his friends to betray him while the other gets shot. [[{{Subversion}} He tries to go informant and quit while he's ahead]], but he still gets shot down by Vito and Joe for selling out.
377** Mafia 2: Vito gets into the mafia so he could get cars, booze, women, and money. And he did... it's just that they don't tell you about how many friends you have to betray and how many bridges you have to burn in exchange.
378** Mafia 3: If Clay becomes the godfather of New Bordeaux, he ends up becoming a power-hungry drug addict, alienating him from Father James, his only remaining old friend. Clay can also choose to kill off his remaining lieutenants at the end of the game to seize power; [[spoiler:Father James assassinates him with a car bomb to prevent him from reigning like a dictator. The playable epilogue has chatter indicating that the black community feels utterly betrayed by their folk hero.]]
379* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' has two examples:
380** In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', the second variation happens with Shao Kahn at his end. After he finally realizes his long-held ambition of taking over all of the known Realms, he [[VictoryIsBoring grows insane out of boredom]], as there is nothing left for him to conquer.
381** In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', General Sonya Blade commands S-F. Too bad that being MarriedToTheJob cost Sonya her ''actual'' marriage to Johnny Cage and their daughter's resentment.
382* Ashikaga Yoshiteru from ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 4'' turns out to feel isolated due to his position as [[RankScalesWithAsskicking warrior shogun of Japan]], which is why he calls everyone he encounters [[IJustWantToHaveFriends "comrade"]], even if he only gets hostility in return. Kenshin asks [[NiceGuy Keiji]] to meet him during [[spoiler:Keiji's drama route]], with the expectation that Keiji will befriend him somehow. [[YouAreNotAlone It worked]].
383* At the end of ''[[VideoGame/FireProWrestling Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special]]'', [[spoiler:The protagonist manages to become champion of the world, but with the love of his life having left him, his mentor and best friend dead at the hands of the now-former champion, and nothing more to aspire to, his victory is hollow. A few days later, [[DrivenToSuicide he shoots himself]]...]]
384* Dolcinaea from ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'' initially comes across as a [[AlphaBitch stereotypical snobby rich girl]]. However, in her desperation to use dancing as a means to escape from her impoverished background, she ended up having very few friends besides her bodyguard Veronica. It's also implied that she hasn't enjoyed dancing in a while until Agnea came along and revitalized her love for it. This gets lampshaded in a travel banter between Agnea and Ochette, where Ochette says that the stars up in the sky are really far away from everyone else, and [[TheNoseKnows she can smell the loneliness]] coming off Dolcinaea.
385* Takahisa Kandori of ''VideoGame/Persona1'' accomplishes his goal of becoming a god. By the time you finally encounter him, though, he's in the middle of a VillainousBSOD and has to be needled into fighting you.
386* Nemona from ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' suffered this problem before meeting the player. As the only Champion-ranked Trainer in her school, battles with her fellow classmates became [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction too easy and boring]]. She even has to build a new team from scratch when she meets the player. [[spoiler:By the end of Victory Road, she finally figures out what her treasure is: a [[WorthyOpponent true rival]] and friend.]] To drive it in further, her post-game interactions show another student refusing to battle her once he realizes who she is, and Nemona sadly mentions how other students avoid her due to her obsession with battling and their fear of [[CurbStompBattle getting curbstomped]] by her.
387* ''VideoGame/{{Spectacle}}'': You can ask the genie to become a king. Unfortunately, it's a long-dead kingdom, there is nothing to rule over, nothing to live for.
388* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal 2'' Thumper wins the Twisted Metal tournament, and the driver asks Calypso to make him king of the world... unfortunately, everyone else in the world was killed in the tournament, so he's left sitting alone on his throne.
389* Invoked example in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines,'' Prince [=LaCroix=] takes a moment to confide in the player the lonesome burden of sole rulership of Los Angeles, and how problematic is it because every other vampire in the city wants him out of the way. Except that sole rulership of Los Angeles was his own ambition and one that remained out of his reach because every other vampire in the city wants him out of the way. His position is in sharp contrast to Nines, whose influence in Los Angeles he finds so intractable because Nines has the respect, loyalty, and friendship.
390* Played [[LampshadeHanging unusually straight]] in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' in the stinger ending, where [[spoiler: Joshua, [[PhysicalGod The Composer]], is standing on top of Ten-Four with Hanekoma. The latter tells him he looks lonely, and Joshua is told that he can't join the friends he made over the past month because it's not his world. Cue Joshua flying away before Hanekoma can continue.]] Talk about a downer ending.
391* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Jastor Gallywix defies this in his official short story ''Trade Secrets of a Trade Prince''. Having alienated the only person he had fallen in love with, and proving that he is scum even by goblin standards, he is still stating that he would not have it any other way.
392[[/folder]]
393
394[[folder:Visual Novels]]
395* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has several of these characters: Saber, who [[spoiler:became a king over a court who has no idea she's a woman and had to throw away all human bonds in order to rule]], and Archer, who [[spoiler:became the "Ally of Justice" he always strived to be but lost practically ''everything'' to do so, was betrayed by his own ideal and was consigned to an eternal IronicHell as a Counter Guardian]]. Shirou also has at least one Bad End where this happens to him. Rin and [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]], meanwhile, are subversions: They're amongst the best at what they do and have practically no peers or friends as a result of single-minded devotion to their goals, but neither are terribly bothered by it.
396* This, combined with the obvious communication problems that arise from deafness, is the main reason why Shizune Hakamichi from ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' does not have many friends. She is Yamaku's StudentCouncilPresident and a ClassRepresentative who takes her responsibilities ''very'' seriously and wants to use her position to things to make the other student's lives enjoyable, but this very same desire makes her come across as bossy to other students [[spoiler:and more or less drives everyone else on the Council, including her cousin Lilly, away.]]
397[[/folder]]
398
399[[folder:Web Animation]]
400* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Pyrrha Nikos is a world-famous champion tournament fighter, quite possibly the most skilled person her age. At one point she fights four other students at once [[CurbStompBattle and makes it look easy]]. But as Pyrrha explains to Jaune, since everyone looks up to her, no one can approach her and see her as an equal. The reason she quickly warmed up to Jaune was that he didn't even know she was famous until Weiss told him, so he didn't put her on a pedestal in the same way as everyone else. In fact, she implies he's her first friend in a ''long'' time, though at Beacon she meets plenty of other friends on her team and Team RWBY.
401** The BigBad had this forcibly put on her, with horrifying consequences. [[spoiler:Salem attempted to beseech the gods for her lover back, and in retaliation for her desire, they forced immortality on her to permanently separate her from her lover. Infuriated, she chose to wage war on the gods, [[JerkassGods who killed everyone else in retaliation]]. She became depressed and broken from millennia of isolation, but also gained the power to become the next goddess. When her husband came back, she no longer suffered this at first, but when it was revealed to her that he was only back out of a religious crusade set upon him by the very deities who tormented her in the first place, their relationship fell apart brutally, resulting in the death of her children and the beginning of an eternal ForeverWar between her and her ex-husband. In the present day, she is even more alone than before, surrounded only by sycophants, fanatics and those only seeking her to aid their own desires.]]
402[[/folder]]
403
404[[folder:Web Comics]]
405* ''Webcomic/{{Gosu}}'': In his late years, while training [[TheApprentice Gang Ryong]], [[MentorArchetype Dogko Ryong]] noted that as a user of the [[TheGreatestStyle Divine Heavenly Destruction Techniques]], there were none who could really challenge him due to its supreme power.
406* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Subverted with [[spoiler:Jack Noir]]: after he's gained omnipotence, he realizes that he's ''bored'' and if he gives in to his murderous instincts and destroys everything, he will be bored for eternity.
407* ''Webcomic/ILoveYoo'': Both Rand and Kousuke are incredibly successful in business, but neither have a social life outside of work. It is shown in flashbacks that Kousuke has left his college friends behind.
408* This is the premise of ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', the main character Saitama strove to become the strongest hero there is, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and he succeeded.]] Now he's a PhysicalGod with nothing in the setting coming even close to giving him a challenge and as the title says, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin he ends all of his fights with one punch.]] [[spoiler:Even foes who take more than one punch aren't much of a challenge, because then he just puts a little more force behind his punches and that's that.]] As a result, Saitama has lost his passion or drive for almost anything as he knows he'll never truly feel the thrill of a good fight. It's a DeconstructiveParody of FightingSeries though, so it's all PlayedForLaughs.
409* ''WebComic/SleeplessDomain'': This was initially why [[spoiler:the Woman in White]] didn't want to awaken Tessa's powers: Tessa had the potential to be an extremely powerful MagicalGirl, but that kind of power would make her isolated. Tessa counters that she's ''already'' isolated, as she's the only one in her peer group without magical powers, and she wants to help them, finally convincing her to awaken Tessa's powers. This makes the events at the beginning of the comic-where Tessa's hubris and decision to sit out a patrol out of anger at Sally caused three of her friends to die, herself to lose her powers, and leave Undine the only member of Team Alchemical left-much more heartbreaking. [[spoiler:The Purple One exploits her loneliness and isolation in order to possess her.]]
410[[/folder]]
411
412[[folder:Web Video]]
413* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv'':
414-->'''Light:''' [[spoiler:L]], why?! ''Why did you leave me?!'' Why did you leave me alone with these IDIOTS! *sobbing* And... yeah, I'm over it now.
415* In ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', Bill Gates's tirade against the recently-deceased Steve Jobs is somewhere between this, AntagonistInMourning, and HowDareYouDieOnMe.
416-->You wanna be like that? Fine! Die then!\
417The whole world loved you, but you were my friend!\
418I'm alone now with nothing but power and time!\
419And no one on Earth who can challenge my mind!
420* Rin feels like this after his [[spoiler:defeat of Haru in their race]] in ''WebVideo/FiftyPercentOff'' episode 18. the other characters remind him, Nagisa most succinctly:
421--> '''Nagisa''': Homeboy, you came in ''fourth''.
422[[/folder]]
423
424[[folder:Western Animation]]
425* Happens to Ickis in ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' after he finds a stash of toenails (monster currency) ironically owned by a hypochondriac millionaire
426* [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderPrincessAzula Princess Azula]] in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', a screwed-up young teen in a BigScrewedUpFamily, exemplifies this trope. [[WellDoneSonGuy To gain the love of her father]], and compensate for perceived lack of love from her mother, she drove herself to become [[DaddysLittleVillain the most perfect daughter]] that an EvilOverlord could wish for, and succeeded. [[spoiler: However, being betrayed by the only two people she had thought she could even ''begin'' to call friends when she finally went so far down the evil brick road that even they couldn't stomach following her, eventually being stood up to by her 'weakling' brother, and worst of all, discovering that even after all she'd done her father ''still'' wouldn't hesitate to treat her, his supposed 'favorite,' as an afterthought to be swept aside and dead-ended in a useless job, she began one of the most epic {{Villainous Breakdown}}s in the history of media. When last seen, she'd been defeated by her brother and one of his allies, and was left a broken and desperately frightened child, sobbing and shrieking helplessly in chains before being committed to an insane asylum]].
427* [[Characters/DCAUBatman Batman]] ends up this way in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, as revealed in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''. Though he becomes probably the second-best well-known superhero on the planet, his driven personality ends up alienating many of his allies and doesn't take time to nurture human relations. [[GameBreakingInjury Then he suffers a heart attack and is forced to retire]]. He then lives as a recluse for twenty years until [[LegacyCharacter Terry]] shows up. Alfred died of old age, none of his romantic relationships shown in the earlier series panned out, the Bat-Family long since split up and retired [[spoiler:after Bruce forbade them to be superheroes]], and he's too old and bitter to help out anyone else in the superhero biz. Thankfully, he at least gets [[spoiler:a loyal son in Terry, who from the looks of things isn't going to leave him high and dry.]]
428* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' suffers ''badly'' from this. Raised by two extremely abusive and neglectful parents, [[Characters/BojackHorsemanBojackHorseman Bojack]] has spent his entire life trying to fill the gaping hole in himself with the approval of the public. As a result, no matter how hard he tries, he's never been able to put the past behind him and is now a drunken, drug-addicted mess in the present day. This finally reaches its climax when he's nominated for an Oscar for his ''Secretariat'' movie (though we later find out this was fake), and realizes he still doesn't feel happy, despite having fought for years for this kind of recognition.
429* Vlad Masters from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' falls under this trope. Despite being one of the richest people in the world (Albeit, one who acquired his fame through less-than-moral means), and one of the most powerful as well, he's also virtually alone (save for his cat Maddie and a few random henchmen) and is both painfully aware that he lost the love of his life and a [surrogate] son to his ex-friend.
430* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E45Superdoo Superdoo]]", Doofus realizes that while he has gained amazing superpowers, none of the other campers want to be friends with him anymore. So he gets rid of the rock that gave them to him.
431* [[Characters/DuckTales2017ScroogeMcDuck Scrooge McDuck]] in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' prior to his reunion with Donald and his grandnephews. He's the richest and most famous duck in the world, but his best days are behind him and he is clearly unhappy with his current life and has no wife, children, or friends, only his driver and housekeeper (and the housekeeper's granddaughter) keep him company. Thankfully, that changes.
432* ''WesternAnimation/FreakyStories'' once featured a wealthy man who was so estranged from his family and friends he willed his entire fortune to [[OnOneCondition whoever bothered to attend his funeral]]. The only person who did so was [[spoiler:a crasher who had no idea of who he was and only needed the bathroom]].
433* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
434** Fry briefly becomes a billionaire after discovering that the 83 cents he had left behind in his bank account 1000 years ago had become several billion in the present day thanks to interest. The wealth ended up alienating him from his friends as he became more and more obsessed with surrounding himself with artifacts from his own time in the 20th century. He realizes this after he is robbed by Mom and her sons and refuses her offer of money and uses the anchovies he bought for a pizza.
435** On [[GeneralFailure Zapp Brannigan]]'s first appearance, after he initially tries and fails to seduce Leela, he breaks down, drops the ladykiller act, and tells her that he's utterly lonely because of his position as a spaceship captain and was hoping to have finally found a kindred spirit. Subverted later when it turns out that the entire breakdown was just a bid for sympathy in order to get her into bed.
436* The trope is dropped in ''WesternAnimation/GodTheDevilAndBob'', as God had spent the episode trying to be like a normal human and consequently butting into Bob's life to an irritating degree, up to and including losing his job's softball game. When Bob finally confronts God over His intrusiveness, God puts it thusly.
437-->'''God''': Y'know the expression, "It's lonely at the top"? That's when you're talkin' about presidents and [[Music/BarbraStreisand Streisand]]. Imagine what it's like for me.\
438'''Bob''': So, you get lonely? [[NotSoDifferentRemark Maybe you know more about being human than I thought]].
439* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' ran for sanitation commissioner in "Candidate Johnny". He mentioned the trope when he had to clean up the streets by himself for spending the budget on the party held to celebrate his victory.
440* One of the points of the StopMotion short film ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8aFxk0aUuU MORE]]''.
441* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
442** In the episode ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E24EquestriaGames Equestria Games]]'', [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle's]] assigned seat -- for the opening ceremony anyway -- is a [[CoolChair throne]] at the highest level of the stadium with the other princesses. She briefly gazes down wistfully at her friends seated at a much lower level, who are having the time of their lives with everypony else.
443** Implied by Celestia to be the case of Starswirl the Bearded. While an amicable and friendly old stallion, he did not understand friendship like Twilight did, which is why he was never able to finish his master spell.
444** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia Princess Celestia]] herself actively [[DefiedTrope tries to avoid]] this. She's the top authority figure in Equestria, but has a playful, teasing side in an attempt to take the edge off of other ponies, either by inviting the Mane Six to the Grand Galloping Gala to deliberately liven it up (or mess it up for her amusement, whichever), and inviting the rambunctious ''Discord'' later on for the same reason. She also doesn't [[StopWorshippingMe like being praised]].
445* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pelswick}}'': Used {{Anvilicious}}ly in an episode that featured a new online school popularity poll. Boyd, the school bully, was at the top of the list and used this to make people wait on him so he'd vote for them to be popular. Pelswick was in the "Loser Zone" at the bottom of the list so everyone at school started to avoid him. But soon Pelswick got the idea for everyone to make Boyd mad so he'd vote against them. With everyone together in the "Loser Zone", everyone stopped caring about being "popular" because they were able to hang out with their friends again without fear. But as the only "popular" kid left in school, and no one else wanting to be "popular" anymore, Boyd wound up alone at the top, as there was no one else "popular" left for him to hang out with.
446-->'''Boyd''': Hello? (echo)\
447Won't anyone talk to me? (echo)\
448Could someone vote against me so I can be a loser too? (echo)\
449Anyone? (echo)
450* ''WesternAnimation/SavingMe'': The entire premise of the show is that Bennett in the future became one of the wealthiest and most powerful men on Earth, but in the process, he ostracized everyone he was every close to until he was all alone with only EDEE 34 as a companion.
451-->-- '''Past Bennett''': One day when I'm at the top, I'll make something really amazing. ''(Future Bennett appears)''
452-->-- '''Future Bennett''': Yeah, well here's a dose of reality, kid: The top ain't great.
453* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'':
454** [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerHordak Hordak]] is the leader of the Horde, feared by all his underlings and respected by most, and for the first season, he seems fine with that. Then, as his backstory gets revealed and we get more glimpses into his personality when he's not in EvilOverlord mode, we find out that he's a deeply lonely, unhappy man with only Imp (himself a modified clone of Hordak) for company. [[spoiler:When he befriends and later falls in love with Entrapta, he seems much happier--and he promptly falls into a depression again when he thinks she's abandoned him. To make matters worse, we find out that Hordak's ''entire goal'' -- the reason for the war, his conquering of Etheria, all of it -- was to impress [[GreaterScopeVillain Horde Prime]] and return to his side. "Destiny, Part 2" revealed that this goal was always doomed to fail, rendering Hordak's misery for absolutely nothing.]]
455** The higher [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerCatra Catra]] climbs, the less happy she is -- not that she ever makes the connection, or realizes that it might be because her [[TheCaligula increasingly]] [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope erratic]] [[BadBoss behavior]] is driving away the few people who genuinely care about her. [[spoiler:By mid-Season 4, she's an equal partner of Hordak, and within inches of winning the war... and completely miserable.]]
456** In a heroic example, [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerGlimmer Glimmer]] finds it very hard to [[spoiler:adjust to life as Queen, since all her friends are now technically her subjects and under her command, and they're now bound to protect her, whether she wants it or not. She alternates between trying to pretend nothing has changed and throwing her weight around in well-intentioned but misguided attempts to keep everyone safe and end the war. This, along with her mother's "death", leads to a rift growing between herself and her friends, and by the end of the season, she's much in the same boat as Catra.]]
457* Frequently parodied on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', where [[Characters/TheSimpsonsCharlesMontgomeryBurns Mr. Burns]] will mourn how his wealth had made him lonely. Then, ten seconds later, he'll change his mind and decide wealth is its own reward after all ("Money fight!"), or it turns out he was just pretending to be lonely to catch people off-guard.
458-->'''Moe Szyslak:''' Rich people aren't happy. From the day they're born 'til the day they die, they ''think'' they're happy, but trust me, they ain't.\
459'''Homer:''' ''[Thinking]'' Moe. Wish he'd shut up.
460** Subverted, played straight then subverted again in this exchange from "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk":
461--->'''Homer''': Let me ask you something: does your money cheer you up when you're feeling blue?\
462'''Mr. Burns''': Yes.\
463'''Homer''': Okay, bad example. [beat] So let me ask you this: [[ArmorPiercingQuestion does your money ever hug you when you come home at night?]]\
464'''Mr. Burns''': Why, no.\
465'''Later'''\
466'''Mr Burns''': Good heavens, Smithers. They're not afraid of me. What good is money if you can't inspire terror in your fellow man?
467** In Mr. Burns' case, it's also because he's so old and evil that he cannot survive without malice. His greed and cruelty are keeping him alive.
468** This trope was, surprisingly, played straight during the Season 1 episode "Homer's Night Out," and was possibly Mr. Burns' first legitimately humanizing moment (and the first of several rather brief moments which imply that he secretly regrets not getting married or having a family). The scene is set up so that the audience believes that Mr. Burns will verbally chew out Homer for raising bad publicity for the plant. But instead, he, in a surprisingly somber manner, lets his guard down and says this:
469--->'''Mr. Burns:''' Simpson... I am, by most measures, a successful man. I have wealth and power beyond the dreams of you and your clock-punching ilk. And yet... I've led a solitary life.
470* Master Cyclonis from ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'' is implied to be this. She's the EvilOverlord of the Cyclonian Empire, the most powerful force in the Atmos, and a powerful warrior, but she's never shown to be really close to anyone amongst even her inner circle who she keeps in line with fear and intimidation. The closest relationships she has are with her [[TheDragon Dragon]] the Dark Ace in a strictly professional sense and [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas her deceased grandmother]], [[spoiler:and her attempt to infiltrate the Storm Hawks and [[FalseFriend get close to Piper]] ultimately results in her [[BecomingTheMask genuinely bonding with Piper on some level]] thanks to shared interests, which fuels both her [[VillainTakesAnInterest obsession with Piper]] and her [[WeCanRuleTogether desire to get her to join her]]]].
471-->'''Cyclonis ([[spoiler:as Lark]])''': Yeah...I don't have many friends, either.
472* One of the episodes of ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' consisted of them being thrust into an alternate future of the world where the Shredder has taken it over, turning it into a {{Dystopia}}. When they finally meet him, he's a stressed out and overworked DeskJockey in a messy office cluttered with repair requests. When the Turtles mention coming from a different world, he throws himself at their feet and ''begs'' to be taken with them to a world where he doesn't rule, since he had no idea how to actually ''run'' the world once he got it.
473* In ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', Raimundo's bitterness at being punished for doing what he thought was right eventually led to him doing a FaceHeelTurn. He helps Wuya regain her power, and she conquers the world. As a reward, she gives Rai 'every game in the world', but it doesn't take long for him to realize that this trope applies since he's the only one playing; it eventually results in him returning to the side of good.
474[[/folder]]

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