Sorry, I guess I didn't make my point clearly in post #4. I wouldn't put Plato and Ayn Rand on the same list because it's my view that Rand wasn't so much a philosopher as an ideologue. I've got the utmost respect for Plato (although I disagree with certain aspects of what I take to be his conclusions), but Rand leaves me cold (she reminds me of Rosa Kleb, the vicious villainess in From Russia with Love).
...it's my view that Rand wasn't so much a philosopher as an ideologue.She was an idealogue, and a good one, although I do agree with her more than disagree in a political sphere.
Rand did lift a lot of her philosophical perspectives from John Locke, who in turn built upon a foundation set by Thomas Hobbes (Levaithan is a tough read, but well worth it).