behaviour. Our empirical evidence, based on hand‐collected data on derivative positions in
the US oil and gas industry, suggests that firms with a narcissistic CEO hedge more
selectively. Furthermore, we find that these firms reduce selective hedging comparatively
more following a sharp price collapse that sent the industry into a state of distress. This result
is in line with the 'narcissistic paradox': While scoring high on self‐esteem and grandiosity in …