This piece of self-advertisement aside, one of Rasputin's saving graces was that he also knew when to favour discretion.

ECONOMIST: Russian history

Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy made a splash in October 2012 when he ran a self-funded political advertisement on several major television networks.

FORBES: Thomas Peterffy

With his Omega partner Steven Einhorn and fellow-billionaire Ken Langone, the co-founder of Home Depot, he has drafted a second open letter, which he hopes will be co-signed by a large group of self-made billionaires, and published as a newspaper advertisement in some swing states.

NEWYORKER: Super-Rich Irony