A war profiteer is any person or organization that improperly profits from war
War...fare or by selling weapon
WeaponA weapon is a tool used to apply or threaten to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack or defense in combat, subduing enemy personnel, or to destroy enemy weapons, equipment and defensive structures....s and other goods to parties at war. The term has strong negative connotations. General profiteering may also occur in peace time.
Types
Black marketeersA distinction can be made between war profiteers who gain by sapping military strength and those who gain by contributing to the war. For instance, during and after World War II
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers...., enormous profits were available by selling rationed goods like cigarette
CigaretteA cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of curing and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other List of additives in cigarettes, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder ....s, chocolate
ChocolateChocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree.Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world...., coffee
CoffeeCoffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the Coffea. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans.... and butter
ButterButter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying.... on the black market. Dishonest military personnel given oversight over valuable property sometimes divert it to the black market. The charge could also be laid against medical and legal professionals who accept money in exchange for helping young men evade a draft.
International arms dealersOthers make their money by cooperating with the authorities. Basil Zaharoff
Basil ZaharoffBasil Zaharoff, Order of the Bath, Order of the British Empire , born Basileios Zacharias, was a Turkey-born France arms trader and financier of Greece heritage, the director and chairman of the Vickers Limited munitions firm during World War I....'s Vickers
VickersVickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004.... Company sold weapons to all the parties involved in the Chaco War
Chaco WarThe Chaco War was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of a great part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil..... Companies like Opel
OpelAdam Opel Gesellschaft mit beschr?nkter Haftung is a Germany automaker, part of General Motors.The company was founded on 21 January, 1863, and began making automobiles in 1899.... and IBM
History of IBMTimelineFor issues and trends that span particular time periods, see History of IBM#Major events, trends, and technologies, below.... have been labeled war profiteers for their involvement with the Third Reich.
Commodity dealersWar usually leads to a shortage in the supply of commodities
CommodityA commodity is anything for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative product differentiation across a market. It is a product that is the same no matter who produces it, such as petroleum, notebook paper, or milk...., which results in higher prices and higher revenues.
PoliticiansPolitical figures taking bribes and favors from corporations involved with war production have been called war profiteers. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....'s first Secretary of War
United States Secretary of WarFile:Swearing in of Secretary Dwight Davis.jpgThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President of the United States United States Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration...., Simon Cameron
Simon CameronSimon Cameron was an United States politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War...., was forced to resign in early 1862 after charges of corruption relating to war contracts. In 1947, Kentucky congressman Andrew J. May, Chairman of the powerful Committee on Military Affairs
United States House Committee on Armed ServicesThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...., was convicted for taking bribes in exchange for war contracts.
Civilian contractorsMore recently, companies involved with supplying the coalition forces in the Iraq War
Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King..., such as Bechtel
BechtelBechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the Economy of the United States, ranking as the 7th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...., KBR
KBRKBR can stand for:* KBR - American engineering and construction company* Key based routing* Royal Library of Belgium* The ISO 639 linguistic identifier code for the Ethiopian language Kaffa Province, Ethiopia ...., Blackwater
Blackwater USAXe , is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark .In October 2007, Blackwater USA renamed itself Blackwater Worldwide, and was colloquially referred to simply as "Blackwater".... and Halliburton
HalliburtonHalliburton is a US-based oilfield services corporation with international operations in more than 70 countries.It is based in 1401 McKinney Street in Downtown Houston Houston, Texas, Texas, in the United States...., have come under fire for allegedly overcharging for their services. The modern private military company
Private military companyA 'private military company' provides specialized expertise or services of a military nature, sometimes called or classified as mercenary . Such companies are equally known as , Private Security Contractors , Private Military Corporations, Private Military Firms, Military Service Providers, and generally as the Private Milit... is also offered as an example of sanctioned war profiteering. On the opposing side, companies like Huawei Technologies
HuaweiHuawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is the largest networking and telecommunications equipment supplier in the People's Republic of China. It is headquartered in Longgang District, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong...., which upgraded Saddam's air-defense system between the two Gulf Wars, face accusations for dealing with Saddam Hussein
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.A leading member of the revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power.... or nuclear aspirant Iran
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.....
Military contractorsA group that always profits from war are the military contractors
Defense contractorA defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides Product s or Service to a defense department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and Electronic Systems.... like Lockheed Martin
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a large Multinational corporation aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the Horizontal integration of Lockheed with Martin Marietta...., Boeing
BoeingThe Boeing Company is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by William Edward Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997...., Northrop Grumman
Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman Corporation is an aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the fourth largest defense contractor in the world, and the largest builder of Naval ship...., Raytheon
RaytheonRaytheon Company is a major United States defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in defense systems and defense and commercial electronics.... and General Dynamics
General DynamicsGeneral Dynamics Corporation is a defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world.... (just to name the most important). Old military material has to be discarded due to age or is lost due to fighting, new and different military material is demanded by the military. This enables military contractors to increase their business and profit from war.
Anti-profiteering measuresMaking unreasonable profits from war is widely considered unethical and is deeply unpopular, so attempts to prohibit excessive war profiteering, such as the imposition of an excess profits tax
Excess profits taxIn the United States, an excess profits tax is a tax on any profit above a certain amount. A predominantly wartime fiscal instrument, the tax was designed primarily to capture wartime profits that exceeded normal peacetime profits...., receive much political support in wartime. Defining 'excessive' accurately is difficult, however, and such legislation frequently allows some instances of profiteering to go unchecked while reducing the income of others' war-related business to loss-making levels.
In the United StatesCriticism of companies such as Halliburton
HalliburtonHalliburton is a US-based oilfield services corporation with international operations in more than 70 countries.It is based in 1401 McKinney Street in Downtown Houston Houston, Texas, Texas, in the United States.... in the context of the Iraq war
Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King... draw heavily on the stereotype of the businessman profiteer. Slogans relating to 'blood for oil' have a similar implication.Steve Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation
New America FoundationThe New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank located in Washington, D.C. that promotes innovative political solutions transcending conventional party lines.... think tank
Think tankA think tank is an organization, institute, corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economy, science or technology issues, industrial or business policies, or military advice...., has accused former CIA Director James Woolsey
R. James Woolsey, Jr.Robert James Woolsey Jr. is a foreign policy specialist and former Director of Central Intelligence and head of the Central Intelligence Agency .... of both profiting from and promoting the Iraq War
Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King....The Center for Public Integrity
Center for Public IntegrityThe Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern.... has reported that US Senator Dianne Feinstein
Dianne FeinsteinDianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the Seniority in the United States Senate United States Senate from California and a member of the Democratic Party .... and her husband, Richard Blum
Richard BlumRichard Blum may refer to:*Richard C. Blum, American investment banker and husband to Dianne Feinstein*Richard Manitoba, born Richard Blum, American musician with the MC5 and The Dictators..., are making millions of dollars from Iraq and Afghanistan contracts through his company, Perini
PeriniPerini Corporation is one of the largest general contractors in the United States. At the end of 2004 its revenue was almost $2 billion. Perini is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Massachusetts and as a consequence bids on many heavy construction projects in Massachusetts.... . Feinstein voted for the resolution
Iraq ResolutionThe Iraq Resolution or the Iraq War Resolution is a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress in October 2002 as Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing the Iraq War.... giving President George W. Bush the authority to invade Iraq.Indicted defense contractor Brent Wilkes
Brent WilkesBrent Roger Wilkes , an American defense contractor. Wilkes became well known for his involvement with the Duke Cunningham defense contracting scandal and was indicted for his involvement in this scandal on February 13, 2007.... was ecstatic when hearing that the United States was going to go to war with Iraq. “He and some of his top executives were really gung-ho about the war,” said a former employee. “Brent said this would create new opportunities for the company. He was really excited about doing business in the Middle East.”The War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007 intended to create criminal penalties for war profiteers and others who exploit taxpayer-funded efforts in Iraq and elsewhere around the world. War profiteering cases are often brought under the Civil False Claims Act
False Claims ActThe False Claims Act is an American federal law which allows people who are not affiliated with the government to file actions against federal contractors claiming fraud against the government...., which was enacted in 1863 to combat war profiteering during the Civil War.Major General Smedley Butler
Smedley ButlerSmedley Darlington Butler , nicknamed "The Fighting Quaker" and "Old Gimlet Eye", was a Major general in the United States Marine Corps and, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in U.S...., USMC, criticized war profiteering of U.S companies during World War I in War Is a Racket
War is a RacketWar Is a Racket is the title of two works, a speech and a booklet, by retired United States Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, one of only 19 people to be twice awarded the Medal of Honor, in which Butler frankly discusses from his experience as a career military officer how business interests have commercially benefited from warf.... He wrote about how some companies and corporations increase their earnings and profits by up to 1700% and how many companies willingly sold equipment and supplies to the U.S that had no relevant use in the war effort. In the book, Butler stated that "It has been estimated by statisticians and economists and researchers that the war cost your Uncle Sam $52,000,000,000. Of this sum, $39,000,000,000 was expended in the actual war period. This expenditure Yielded $16,000,000,000 in profits."
In popular cultureThe term 'war profiteer' evokes two stereotypes in popular culture: the rich businessman who sells weapons to governments, and the semi-criminal black marketeer who sells goods to ordinary citizens. In English-speaking countries this is particularly associated with Britain during World War II
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers.....The image of the 'businessman profiteer' carries the implication of influence and power used to actively cause wars for personal gain, rather than merely passively profit from them. In the aftermath of World War I
World War IWorld War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers...., such profiteers were widely asserted to have existed by both the Left, and (fused with anti-Semitism
Anti-SemitismAntisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews.This prejudice or hostility is usually characterized by a combination of Religion, Race , cultural and ethnic group biases....) by the Right.The surname of the character 'Daddy Warbucks' in Little Orphan Annie
Little Orphan AnnieLittle Orphan Annie is a daily United States comic strip, created by Harold Gray , that first appeared on August 5, 1924. The title, suggested by an editor at the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, was inspired by James Whitcomb Riley's popular 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" which begins:Comic strips... carries an obvious implication. This character is interesting for being an example of the stereotype of a war profiteer applied to a 'good guy'.The Tintin
The Adventures of TintinThe Adventures of Tintin is a series of comic strips created by Belgium artist Herg?, the pen name of Georges Remi . The series first appeared in French in a children's supplement to the Belgian newspaper on 10 January 1929.... adventure The Broken Ear
The Broken EarThe Broken Ear is the sixth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Herg?, featuring young reporter Tintin and Snowy as a hero.... features an arms dealer called Basil Bazarov who sells arms to both sides in a war. He is a recognisable example of this 'type', and specifically based on Basil Zaharoff
Basil ZaharoffBasil Zaharoff, Order of the Bath, Order of the British Empire , born Basileios Zacharias, was a Turkey-born France arms trader and financier of Greece heritage, the director and chairman of the Vickers Limited munitions firm during World War I.....The character of Joe Walker in the sitcom Dad's Army
Dad's ArmyDad?s Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the World War II. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977.... is an example of the second stereotype of a war profiteer while the character Rick Pym in the novel A Perfect Spy
A Perfect SpyA Perfect Spy by John le Carr?, is a novel about the mental and moral dissolution of a secret agent.... is a more psychologically complex example.Brecht
BrechtBrecht is a municipality located in the Belgium province of Antwerp . The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts.... wrote the play Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her ChildrenMother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the Germany dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin.... as a didactic indictment of war profiteering.