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Finally, she and some of her followers are often perceived as being dogmatic, frequently ignoring published criticism of the system instead of responding to it. This is in part because many of them were young people excited by her novels and unlearned in philosophy; such people are not often aware of the complexities of their subject and prone to construe disagreement as ignorance. Furthermore, many of her supporters would not permit modifications or additions to her philosophical system, leading some to label Rand as a cult leader.

I hear that Rand's life was a mess, but it's hard not to cheer for the heroes of her books.  Nobody in real life is as awesome as John Galt and his posse, but it would be cool if they were. Anyway, Rand didn't really give a damn whether or not people donated to charities, all she wanted was an end to forced generosity (which of course is no generosity at all)