David Koresh, Death Toll: 90. Here's another one most readers will likely remember: the ATF raid on Koresh's compound proved to be pretty controversial and sparked anti-government sentiment, but we can't pretend that Koresh wasn't a cult leader, and a pretty nasty one. He didn't actually start the Branch Davidian sect; he joined it in 1982, and was originally just a musician and singer in the sect's church. The cult way then being run by the 65-year-old widow of the Davidians' founder; and apparently Koresh (who was in his mid-20s) started to have an affair with her. He also claimed he was now a prophet. The founder's son, George Roden, was not happy that his mom was shacking up with Koresh and looked likely to try to steal his place as heir, so he staged a kind of coup and kicked Koresh and his followers out. After a few years (when the founder's wife was dead) Koresh actually went into the Waco compound with armed followers and fought a gun battle to try to retake it. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder but he got off on a mistrial. Meanwhile, George Roden ended up murdering someone with an axe, and went off to jail. Koresh and his followers took possession of the Davidian compound. Once he was in full power over the Branch Davidians, Koresh ruled with an iron fist, full of looniness and child abuse. Children were beaten nearly to death, Koresh claimed any woman he wanted to as his own, married a 13 year old and raped a 10 year old. When the ATF raid happened, Koresh made sure that as many of his followers as possible would die in the 'apocalypse' of his own making, including the compound's children.