I think that they have no real meaning in their lives, and that they're bored/empty.
They get a twisted rush of superiority and excitement from the games they create and direct.
Life without God makes them search for a substitute. Those replacements are incredibly sad - and dangerous.
You are describing people like Dr. George Hodel, the alleged murderer of the Black Dahlia, and suspected Zodiac Killer. He was a wealthy man who felt himself superior to any else who came into his presence. His detective son wrote an excellent and convincing book fingering his father, who he described as a sociopath.
Is a person with a BA degree in medieval French Poetry educated?
One of myscouts did that and finally got work with amnesty international