Scott Adams

Of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, he said the following: "If you're an undecided voter, and male, you're seeing something different. You're seeing a celebration that your role in society is permanently diminished. And it's happening in an impressive venue that was, in all likelihood, designed and built mostly by men." Adams said that he temporarily endorsed Hillary Clinton out of fear for his own life, stating that he had received direct and indirect death threats ("Where I live, in California, it is not safe to be seen as supportive of anything Trump says or does. So I fixed that."). In late September, however, Adams switched his endorsement from Clinton to Trump. Among his primary reasons for the switch were his respect for Trump's persuasion skills over Clinton's, Clinton's proposal to raise the inheritance tax to 65%, and his concerns over Clinton's health. Adams states that being labelled a 'Donald Trump apologist' ended his speaking career and reduced his income by about 40%.

In 2015, although Adams stated that he would not endorse a candidate for the 2016 elections, he repeatedly praised Donald Trump's persuasion skills, especially on his blog, extensively detailing what he called Trump's "talent stack", the then-candidate's unusual skill set combination. Adams predicted that Trump would win the Republican nomination and the general election; in the 2016 election campaign's final weeks, except for a temporary reversal in early October, Adams repeatedly said Trump would win in a landslide victory, which would be followed by rioting.

Adams has often commented on political matters, although in 2016 he wrote on his blog "I don't vote and I am not a member of a political party." In 2007, he suggested that Michael Bloomberg would make a good presidential candidate. Before the 2008 presidential election he said, "On social issues, I lean Libertarian, minus the crazy stuff", but said in December 2011 that, if he were president, he would do whatever Bill Clinton advised him to do because that "would lead to policies that are a sensible middle ground". In a blog post from September 2017, Adams has jokingly referred to himself to be left of Bernie Sanders on a number of occasions. On October 17, 2012, he wrote "while I don't agree with Romney's positions on most topics, I'm endorsing him for president".

Adams married Shelly Miles in 2006. She has two children, Savannah and Justin Miles. Adams and Miles divorced in 2014. In an October 2018 blog post, he stated that his stepson had "almost certainly" died of an opioid overdose and called for volunteer sponsors to sign up on WhenHub to take calls from addicts in need. Adams is a co-founder of WhenHub. In December 2019, Adams announced on his podcast that he had gotten engaged to be married to Kristina Basham on Christmas Day.

Since late 2004, Adams has suffered from focal dystonia, which has affected his ability to draw on paper for lengthy periods. He now draws the comic on a graphics tablet. He also suffered from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes the vocal cords to behave in an abnormal manner. In July 2008 underwent surgery to reroute the nerve connections to his vocal cords, and his voice is now completely functional.

In addition to his cartoon work, he has written two books on religion, God's Debris (2001), and The Religion War (2004). God's Debris lays out a theory of Pandeism, in which God blows itself up to see what will happen, which becomes the cause of our universe. In God's Debris, Adams suggests that followers of theistic religions such as Christianity and Islam are inherently subconsciously aware that their religions are false, and that this awareness is reflected in their consistently acting like these religions, and their threats of damnation for sinners, are false. In a 2017 interview Adams said these books would be "his ultimate legacy".

In 1998, Dilbert began as a TV series, but was canceled in 2000. By 2000, the comic was in 2,000 newspapers in 57 countries and 19 languages.

Logitech CEO Pierluigi Zappacosta invited Adams to impersonate a management consultant, which he did wearing a wig and false mustache. He tricked Logitech managers into adopting a mission statement that Adams described as "so impossibly complicated that it has no real content whatsoever". That year, he won the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, and Best Newspaper Comic Strip of 1997, the most prestigious awards in the field.

Adams has received recognition for his work, including the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award and Newspaper Comic Strip Award for 1997 for his work on Dilbert. He had also been climbing the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) rankings of the 50 most influential management thinkers, placing 31st in 2001, 27th in 2003, and 12th in 2005, but fell to 21st in 2007. He did not place in 2009.

Adams's success grew, and he became a full-time cartoonist with Dilbert in 800 newspapers. In 1996, the Dilbert principle was released, his first business book.

He worked at Pacific Bell between 1986 and June 1995; the personalities he encountered there became the inspiration for many of his Dilbert characters. Adams first published Dilbert with United Media in 1989, while still employed at Pacific Bell. He had to draw his cartoons at 4 a.m. in order to work a full day at the company. His first paycheck for Dilbert was a monthly royalty check of $368.62. Gradually, Dilbert became more popular and was published by 100 newspapers in 1991, and 400 by 1994. Adams attributes his success to his idea of including his e-mail address in the panels, thus facilitating feedback from readers.

Adams worked closely with telecommunications engineers at Crocker National Bank in San Francisco between 1979 and 1986. Upon joining the organization, he entered a management training program after being held at gunpoint twice in four months as a teller. Over the years, his positions included management trainee, computer programmer, budget analyst, commercial lender, product manager, and supervisor.

Adams graduated valedictorian from Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School in 1975 in a class of 39. He remained in the area and received a BA in economics from Hartwick College in 1979. He moved to California a few months after his graduation. Adams earned an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986.

Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. His Dilbert series came to national prominence through the downsizing period in 1990s America and was then distributed worldwide. Adams worked in various roles at big businesses before he became a full-time cartoonist in 1995. He writes in a satirical, often sarcastic way about the social and psychological landscape of white-collar workers in modern business corporations.

Adams was born in 1957 in Windham, New York, the son of Paul and Virginia (née Vining) Adams. He is of half-German descent and also has English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Dutch, and a small amount of American Indian ancestry.