Iran’s Elites Keep Getting Richer

Jul 29, 2026 08:46 PM - 2 hours ago 3

An Iranian worker earns astir 160 cardinal rials a month, aliases astir $116 dollars. With rising inflation, shortages and blackouts this makes it incredibly challenging for the mean Iranian to make ends meet. The Statistical Centre of Iran reported an wide complaint of ostentation of 88.6% successful June of 2026. As galore arsenic 32-40 million Iranians retired of a organization of 92 cardinal unrecorded beneath the absolute poorness statement and Iran has 1 of the highest food inflation rates successful the world. The effects of war, sanctions and the worst drought successful forty years person taken a toll connected Iran’s poor.

Yet these challenges person hardly affected the regime’s hardliners successful charge, which whitethorn beryllium moreover much emboldened to guarantee that they support each the immense wealthiness they person accumulated. This runs contrary to the measurement the Iranian activity portrays itself. Deceased erstwhile Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presented himself arsenic a man of austerity and humility. Officially his wealthiness declaration listed assets worthy only $50,000, and he supposedly only keeps institution pinch the “poor” pinch claims that his surviving standards are "below average."

Yet down this façade of a man of the people, lies a powerful financial empire, reminiscent of totalitarian regimes of the past wherever wealthiness is tied to the complete power of the state. This is different than the backstage enrichment exemplary of emblematic authoritarian regimes wherever wealthiness accumulates done corruption and consists of backstage assets, offshore accounts, companies and family fortunes. True, the Iranian authorities has engaged successful backstage enrichment arsenic well. But overmuch of the Khamenei’s wealthiness is driven by the bonzer level of power he had complete the authorities and its economical resources. Like past leaders specified arsenic Josef Stalin, his powerfulness and wealthiness were intolerable to separate. It stems little from personally owning immense backstage wealthiness and much from his power complete state-linked institutions that predominate ample parts of the economy.

Regarding his backstage wealthiness accumulation, the erstwhile Khamenei headed a financial web pinch luxury properties successful respective countries specified arsenic Spain and the United Kingdom. This includes respective luxury resorts and play courses successful Mallorca and Marbella, locations that the Ayatollah’s family person progressively looked to, to diversify their investments since protests rocked the state successful 2022. Beyond the UK and Spain, immoderate of the Ayatollah’s funds are deposited successful Venezuela, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Venezuela successful peculiar has helped to launder the Ayatollah’s money, helping to safeguard the family’s assets if the authorities collapsed.

Despite his modular and unadorned attire that mightiness propose a humble income, the erstwhile Ayatollah’s wealthiness is location betwixt $100 and $200 billion, moreover much than what Iran earns annually done lipid exports (Recent estimates show that Iran earned a sum of complete $11 cardinal during the existent months agelong war, and a further $6.5 cardinal during the ceasefire).

And the wealthiness seems to beryllium each successful the family. Khameini’s boy Mojtaba, the caller Supreme Leader, controls an empire worthy astatine least $3 billion successful the UK, the UAE and different European countries, though his sanction does not look connected immoderate charismatic ownership documents. These assets and properties are past utilized to facilitate money laundering and to finance institutions that are nether his control.

The Rise of Setad, the Powerful Economic Juggernaut

After the 1979 gyration that ended the norm of the Shah, an statement called Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam aliases Setad was group up to negociate properties that had been abandoned aft the revolution, arsenic hundreds of thousands of Iranians fled (one successful 15 Iranians unrecorded abroad). The nonsubjective was to usage the Setad for charitable purposes and only for a two-year modulation period.

Some of these properties had not been really abandoned, however. The owners of these properties – who were deemed enemies of the regime--were threatened and ordered to salary the Setad rent connected properties they had owned for years. Anyone who refused was evicted. After these properties were seized, they were past incorporated into the existent property portfolio of the authorities aliases sold disconnected adding overmuch much wealthiness and income for the regime.

Under Khamenei, what was expected to beryllium a charitable endeavor, was transformed into a wealthiness generating machine. The superior gained was utilized to reinvest successful strategical companies and industries-- from telecommunications to making contraceptives to ostrich farming. Other businesses successful economical sectors specified arsenic health, infrastructure and automobiles were forced to salary bribes and fees to companies linked to Khamenei and his family to proceed to operate. State-owned onshore was incorporated into the family’s assets. The web of wealthiness reaches astir each assemblage of Iran’s system and touches each facet of Iranians’ lives. It is unclear really overmuch money from the Setad really goes to the poor, arsenic location is nary transparency.

In 2013, Reuters conducted an investigation that shed ray connected really Setad functions. Setad answers only to the Supreme Leader pinch nary oversight by the Iranian Parliament—as the Parliament voted to prohibit itself from monitoring Setad successful 2008. It pays nary taxes and is ne'er taxable to outer audits. Control is exercised done ammunition companies and taxation haves successful Switzerland led by beforehand men who are dual nationals of Iran domiciled abroad.

While the Shah was ostentatious astir his wealthiness and life of luxury, moreover holding a statement to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire that coming would person costs astir $100 million, the Ayatollah’s wealthiness and assets acold exceeds the luck of the Shah (worth about $3 billion accounting for inflation). The Setad’s existent property holdings unsocial are worthy complete $50 cardinal pinch different $43 cardinal successful firm holdings, going by information from arsenic early arsenic 2008.

The strategy is akin to the Russian oligarchic building wherever powerful business predominate cardinal industries, but Iran’s web is overmuch broader encompassing thousands of individuals who are profoundly loyal to the regime.

Military Inc.

Not to beryllium outdone is the wealthiness of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps-- the IRGC-- which has developed a business empire that includes oil, transportation, banking, telecommunications, agriculture, medicine and existent estate. Khatam al-Anbiya, an IRGC-affiliated engineering patient runs various projects successful agriculture, industry, hydrocarbon, health, existent estate, mining, pharmaceuticals, roadbuilding, education, and proscription sectors. The yearly worth of contracts awarded by the authorities to Khatam al-Anbiya is worthy successful the tens of billions.

The IRGC besides has a web of foundations aliases bonyads, that are semi-private monopolies that make much wealthiness for its organization, accounting for much than half of Iran’s GDP successful 2013.

While Iranian businesses person been trim disconnected from ineligible finance and trade, the IRGC has had greater black-market opportunities- smuggling equipment specified arsenic alcohol, narcotics, weapons and tobacco. The IRGC besides controls the mostly of Iran’s lipid exports, bypassing sanctions utilizing protector tankers and falsified documents. This type of smuggling yields a 200–300% profit separator for the IRGC, accounting for astir $12.4 cardinal to $25 billion annually from illicit lipid income and smuggling.

The consequence is simply a strategy wherever mean Iranians look economical hardship, while state-controlled wealthiness remains concentrated successful the hands of the Supreme Leader, the IRGC and different actors and institutions that prolong their rule. So moreover arsenic Iran has faced staggering harm to its subject infrastructure and system arsenic a consequence of its warfare pinch the US and blockade, those successful complaint person been mostly insulated from the consequences, leaving them pinch small inducement to work together to a deal.