Ever Known A Bigger Jerk?

Is this guy for real? He seems so over-the-top sadistically sociopathic I can't help but wonder if this is an act or some kind of really twisted publicity stunt. That little voice in the back of my head is having trouble accepting that such a soulless monster can exist, but I'm not sure why I'm having trouble given the unspeakable cruelty that history has shown humans to be capable of.

I feel sorry for his children most of all. God knows how many things inside them are permanently "broken" because of their upbringing....