War profiteering

A war profiteer is any individual or organization that earns excessive or unethical profit from warfare or by selling weapons, supplies, or services to parties engaged in conflict. The term typically carries strong negative connotations and is often associated with exploitation during times of national crisis. More broadly profiteering, making a profit, criticized as excessive or unreasonable, also occurs in peacetime. An example of war profiteers were the shoddy millionaires of the American Civil War, who allegedly sold recycled wool and cardboard-soled shoes to soldiers, prioritizing profit over quality and safety.

Some have argued that major modern defense conglomerates including Lockheed Martin, Mitsubishi, Boeing, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, and RTX Corporation 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 US defense industry spent $144 million on lobbying the US government and donated over $22.6 million to congressional candidates, as well as large profits for defense company shareholders in the post-9/11 period.