MONEY FROM WAR? / NO, WE INVEST IN PEACE 🕊️☮️₿War profiteering
A war profiteer is any person or organization that derives profit from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term typically carries strong negative connotations. General profiteering, making a profit criticized as excessive or unreasonable, also occurs in peacetime. An example of war profiteers were the "shoddy" millionaires who allegedly sold recycled wool and cardboard shoes to soldiers during the American Civil War. Some have argued that major modern defense conglomerates like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, and Raytheon fit the description in the post-9/11 era. This argument is based in the political influence of the defense industry, for example in 2010 the defense industry spent $144 million on lobbying and donated over $22.6 million to congressional candidates, as well as large profits for defense company shareholders in the post-9/11 period.
International arms dealers
Further information: Arms Industry
Others make their money by cooperating with the authorities. Basil Zaharoff's Vickers Company sold weapons to all the parties involved in the Chaco War. Companies like Opel and IBM have been labeled war profiteers for their involvement with the Third Reich. In the case of IBM they developed technologies that were used to count, catalog, and select Jewish people whom could then be targeted for efficient asset confiscation, consolidation in ghettos, deportation, enslaved labor, and, ultimately, annihilation.
Commodity dealers
War usually leads to a shortage in the supply of commodities, which results in higher prices and higher revenues. When it comes to supply and demand in terms of economics, profit is the most important end. During war time, "war-stuff" is in high demand, and demands must be met. Prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, oil production was controlled by the Iraqi government, and was off limits to Western companies. As of 2014, foreign owned private firms dominate Iraqi oil production.
WE INVEST IN PEACE 🕊️☮️₿,
The FXPROFESSOR
